The Entity of Happiness
by amethystblossom
Summary: A story told from Yuki's perspective on how she changes over the course of time she spends with Zero at his Villa
1. Chapter 1

**The Entity of Hapiness**

Chapter 1- The Request

It all started with that innocent sentence that came out of Zero's mouth a few days ago.

'I want to go somewhere.'

The chairman and I stared at Zero as if he'd just claimed that he wanted to commit suicide. That was the thing though, Zero seldom spoke and even when he did he had never asked for anything for as long as he'd been here, living with the chairman and me. Since the chairmans mouth was full with his unswallowed food and my spoon of rice dwelled in my open mouth when Zero had spoken, I found it befitting for me to inquire into his sudden urge.

'Where do you-'

I started, when suddenly the chairman started choking and I had to get up and hit his back with my palm. Zero didn't even look up. The chairman stopped coughing, he didn't pause even to regain his breathing when he turned to Zero with excited eyes and beamed at him.

'I've always wanted to go to the zoo. There's a new one that opened near here. I saw a flyer for it and I fell in love with all the small and cute and adorable little animals. I just wanted to cuddle all of them.'

There was silence. I sat down on my chair. Oh boy. The chairman gave a light cough, smiling he turns to me as I pick up my spoon.

'And where would Yuki like to go?'

'Huh?' I say, the spoon halfway to my mouth. I put my hand up to my chin, thinking, 'Well, there's Hawaii. I love the beaches there. They seem so beautiful.'

The chairman's eyes blaze, 'As your father, I will one day take you to Hawaii, since it is my duty to fulfill all your desires.'

As the chairman talks, I look at Zero. He's pushing his food around his plate, he rests his head on his left hand, with his elbow on the table. I look at his plate, he has hardly eaten anything.

'Where do you want to go Zero?'

He looks up for the first time as if the last conversation we had had not existed. His eyes are glazed, as if we'd pulled him out of whatever debates were going on in his head. He hesitates before answering.

'I was thinking about going home.'

Both the chairman and me stare at him. My stomach drops as I take in his words, the word 'home' seems to stand out more then anything. Even after all this time, Zero didn't consider this place his home. My throat is suddenly dry and I don't know what to say. Luckily, the chairman rests his hand on Zeros back gently and tells him.

'Lets go to the lake this weekend. The one in Outtake. Your parents had a small villa there didn't they?'

Zero looks at him. Silent. 'Yeah,' he finally says.

So now here we were, in Outtake. It's a beautiful place. It took a three hour train ride from the Academy to get here and it was worth it. I had said I wanted to go to the beaches in Hawaii, but the beaches here were good enough. When I told the chairman that, he lunged at me to give me one of his fatherly hugs. I dodge him easily.

We had arrived at the house about half an hour ago. Zero seemed in a good mood, he actually looked a little excited as he gave us a tour of the villa. It was a nice big house on the top of a hill over-looking the town below. It consisted of two master bedrooms- each with its own bathroom- upstairs, a kitchen overlooking the forest, the library was particularly big, and there was a living room, with a sliding window door that overlooked the town underneath. The chairman told us to share a room since he would most likely be up all night doing some work. Zero rejected the idea and suggested he sleep on the couch in the living room. I was about to argue, but he said it flipped into a bed, so I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want Zero to be uncomfortable.

We had arrived near midnight and, after the tour, had cleaned the place up before taking a shower and going to bed.

The next morning, before I had woken, the chairman and Zero had gone fishing. I imagine them on a small boat, with Zero just laying down on his back trying to sleep and the chairman quiet for once as to not scare the fish away. I go out for a walk through the forest surrounding the villa. I hear leaves rustle as a soft wind blows through my hair. I close my eyes. I feel nostalgic. At least Zero has something left to remember his parents by. I don't even remember my parents faces. But is that better? To never have known someone, so you know no pain. Or to remember them everyday of your life and feel the pain along with the pleasure of ever experiencing that kind of love?

My thoughts turn to Zero. I smile to myself, he seems happy to be here, though nobody other then the chairman and me-who have known the longest- would detect the slight raise of his voice and the brightness in his eyes as he talked about the house. I can understand why he would be happy, this was the house of his family, he must feel comfortable here, even though it might hurt him somewhat. I sigh, I wanted Zero to be happy, more then anyone, he had gone through too much to not deserve the best of happiness.

Before I can delve too deep into the woods, I hear sounds coming from the house, I turn and start walking back from the direction I came. Zero and the chairman are back, the chairman's face tells me they didn't catch any fishes. I groan internally, the chairman's going to try another of his recipes. I trudge back into the house to get it over with.

A little while after breakfast we go into town to get some groceries. We meet an old women in a grocery store who recognizes Zero there.

'Oh, its been so long Zero, look how much you've grown, what a big boy you've become. Why I remember the first time you came here, you were no more then 2 years old, you pooped all over the floor and then started running around the street with the diaper in your hands, flinging poop everywhere.'

My stomach hurt so much from laughing, I had to kneel on the floor. As a side note, the women added, 'Oh no, I believe that was Ichiru, yes it was him actually. You were always the quiet one.'

We walk home after we get everything we needed. As soon as we get home, the phone rings. The chairman goes to answer it, while Zero and I start taking out things for supper in the kitchen.

We decide on simple tuna sandwiches. We start taking out what we need to make it when the chairman comes in. His head bowed.

'What's the matter?' I ask, cautious.

He looks up, bursting into tears, 'The council wants me to come back, there a problem that can't be resolved unless I'm there. I'm to leave in a while.'

'Do we have to go today?' I ask him, regret heavy in my voice. I enjoyed this place so much. It was so beautiful, and the first place we came in which Zero actually seemed to be enjoying himself.

The chairman looks up, tears rolling down his eyes, 'Oh no, my darling daughter, I would never in my life ruin this trip for you, and you too Zero.'

Zero is too busy cutting lettuce so all he does is roll his eyes.

'So I've booked my ticket for today, you both have until Monday to come back since that was the original plan.'

'Is that really okay with you chairman?'

'Of course Yuki, my darling. This trip was originally for both of you.' he smiles at me.

I look at Zero. 'Is that okay with you Zero?'

Zero doesn't pause from his cutting and reaches for the cucumbers, 'Whatever.'

The chairman leaves after an hour, he doesn't let us drive him to the station because he doesn't want to cry.

'Chairman we'll see you on Monday,' I tell him as the taxi arrives.

He's balling his eyes out, 'But Monday seems too far my sweety. I won't see you, my lovely daughter and my beautiful son for-'

Before he finishes, Zero grabs his coat from behind and drags him to the taxi. He throws him in and tells the taxi driver where to go. As he drives away we hear the chairman's voice echo Zeros name.

Zero turns away to go inside. I go and stand erect in front of him. He raises his eyebrows.

'What?' he asks.

'Can we go to the beach?'

'Why do you want to go to the beach?'

I look at him, using my puppy dog eyes.

'Please. I saw it when we went to town. Can we please?'

Zero sighs, he looks up and then looks at me again, I start to frown.

'Fine,' he says, 'Only for a little while though.'

This is my first time actually putting my work up for others to see, and i'd be lying if i said i'm not nervous :S


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- An Argument

We walk to town and get in a bus to take us to the beach. The sky is cloudy, but other then that it's a beautiful day. We walk through the beach and lay our things down in a secluded area. Since its a chilly morning, there aren't many people. We set our Umbrella and blanket on the sand. We brought our tuna sandwiches as our lunch. Zero had to walk all the way to the other side of the beach to get us drinks. He said he didn't mind when I told him I'd go, it was a small beach, he tells me. As I wait for him I'm suddenly overcome by the idea of going for a quick lap in the beach. I look around, there aren't many people around, and those who are aren't paying any attention. I'm a little shy of taking off my knee-length shirt, I had borrowed a bikini from Yori's friend Mitsuki, she wasn't exactly the decent type, it was a black snake-skin bikini which didnt really do a good job in covering my body. I dont feel comfortable, but the urge is greater then the nervousness. I take off my shirt and my flip-flops and go in the water as fast as I can. It's a little cold but it feels better because when I come up for air, the sun is right on top of me. I go for a quick lap, the water makes me feel light and giddy. I go under and try out some random moves, enjoying myself a little too much. A little while later, I come out of the water, and lie on our blanket. i feel more comfortable now that I know that nobodies really here to see me in all my indecency. Instead of drying off with a towel I decide that I'll just wait for the wind to dry me. I lie with my face turned towards the sun, my eyes are closed. The noises I hear around me turn into mesh, and just when I think I'm about to drift off, I feel a shadow fall on me.

'Took you long enough,' I say, sitting myself on my elbows. I turn up to look at him, the sun blares my eyes, and I use my hands to cover my face from the sun. I freeze. The man standing in front of me isn't Zero. The Body structure is totally different. While Zero is long and lean, this guy was buff and of medium height. I look at him for a second before I remember what I said to him.

'Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else.'

I sit up, now I can see him clearly, he's a good-looking guy. A little older then me I'm guessing. He has a sharp jaw and a wide mouth, his lashes are long and his eyes are green. He's only wearing swim shorts, so I can see his body, his abs are prominent and his muscles stretch his body in every which way.

'I saw you swimming,' he says. He starts, as if I hadn't said anything since he came. I look at him. I feel a plunge in my stomach as he looks at me all over with his eyes. I feel naked. I bring my knees up to my chin and cross my arms on them.

'Okay,' I say. So what? He finally looks away towards the beach, then back at me. He points towards an area near him.

'You see those guys over there.'

I look, there are about three guys sitting not too far from us, but far enough that I can't see their faces clearly. I see all of them with looking our way and two of them laughing. I figure its just a joke or a dare. I look back at him, now I'm annoyed. Why the hell did they have to play with me?

'What about them?'

'They told me if I didn't make-out with you, I'd have to run naked around the beach,' he kneels down, 'Now, I don't want to run around naked like a pussy, and your not too bad yourself, so why not,' he shrugs.

Was he serious. I gaped at him. I couldn't help it, with my mouth open in shock, I let out a breath, and started laughing hysterically. He seemed a little confused, he looked back to his comrades, they gave him the same look he gave them. I laugh even harder, I had to hold my stomach, my eyes watered. My stomach hurt. I started taking deep breaths to calm myself. They couldn't be serious. I wish Zero was here to see this.

'I'm sorry,' I say, wiping the tears from my face, before he could continue I say, 'I'm not really interested.'

'What the fu-,' he was blazing, his face was red. My laugh dissipated. He was really angry. Well, it wasn't my fault, they should have chose someone else, or at least thought of something more decent to do with me. Instead of turning away like a gentleman, he grabs my wrists. I look at him. He can't do anything, we're in a public beach. I think he realizes that, because he looks around, his mouth fuming.

'Let me go,' I say to him, my eyes hard and forceful, but my voice quivered. He notices this. He pulls me towards him, before I knew it, he's kissing the side of my mouth, missing my lips by an inch. I push him away, he doesn't budge, instead he hits me, straight across the face with the back of his hand, so the slap doesn't make a loud sound but its double the force. My head turns in an uncomfortable angle towards the side. My cheeks sting, then numbs, my ear rings. In an instant, the numbness is gone, and the pain is left, my eyes fill with tears. Before I turn to him, he grabs the hair from the back of my head and pulls my ears to his mouth.

'If you scream, I'll gonna fucking-'

Before he can finish the sentence, his mouth disappeared from my ear. I hear glass breaking, a thud and a groan. I turn to find Zero there, standing over the guy. He had thrown the coke bottle at him, and kicked him in the shins is what I thought when I saw the guy hunched over the way he was. Zero turns to me. His eyes blazing, and there's a dark shadow over him. He looks at me, I cringe. He's even scarier then the guy was. People in the distant start to point and get up to see what's happening. Before they can come near us, Zero throws the towel at me. I'm shivering but I wrap the towel around my self as he starts picking up our stuff. I hear the whistle of a life guard. Zero closes the umbrella and picks up the quilt we lay on the ground in a swift motion, with the basket, the umbrella and the quilt in one hand, he uses the other to grab my arm and pull me up, urging me to walk with him. I'm glad he did, my knees would have buckled if i stood by myself considering the state i was in.

We walked through the forest all the way to the top of the hill, we don't stop. My feet hurt and i can't seem to walk anymore. Finally when we reached the top, I called Zeros name. He looked back at me, his eyes still blazing. He didn't even break into a sweat with that climb. He saw my face and stopped. He led me to the side of the trail, there was a rock there and I sat on it. I was regaining my strength when Zero turns to me.

'What the hell was that?' he bellows at me. My breathing stops.

'What was what?' I said back to him, my breathing coming back to normal. After taking all that, he didn't expect me to put up with him did he?

'I'm gone for ten minutes and your up and about sticking your face where it doesn't belong.'

I look at him, my mouth hangs open. I get up, the towel falling from my body. I didn't want him to intimidate me.

'Do you even know what happened? That guy came on to me. He said it was a dare from his friends, I told him I wasn't interested, he was forceful and grabbed me. I told him to let me go and he hit me. That's when you came. Why would you say that I led the guy on,' my voice had reached a high shriek, but I didn't care, I was shivering and I was angry. I breathed through my nose. I was so angry, I wanted to hit something.

'It's the way you look that would lead him on,' he points at my bikini. I look down, I knew he was right, but that still doesn't mean that whatever happened was my fault. He's looking away, then I hear him say, 'you look like a slut.'

My shoulders drop, My nose and my eyes twitch, I'm about to cry, but I don't. I pick up my towel, and start walking. He doesn't notice until I'm about a good 2 miles away from him. From the corner of my eyes, I see him hit the trunk of a tree. I keep walking, even after he calls my name apologetically.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**- A Reconciliation

I stay shut up inside my room for the rest of the day. Zero doesn't have to sleep on the couch/ bed, so my last ounce of pity for him is gone. He knocks on my door when he comes back to the house. Graciously giving me about half an hour to compose myself. I don't answer, even when he calls my name. My heart is hardened, though it melts a little when he whispers through the door, almost to himself, that he's sorry. I feel his presence on the other side for a good ten minutes before he finally leaves.

No more then two hours pass when I'm already bored with myself and want to apologize to Zero just for the sake of talking to a person other then me. Instead, I walk across my room and open the window, careful not to make a sound, I climb out and place my feet onto the rocky ground outside. Its nearly twilight, and since it's not completely dark, I start to make my way towards the forest laying ahead of me. A few minutes of walking I hear the sound of trinking water. I follow the sound and find a small stream snaking its way through the ground of the forest. I make my way to a large rock which looked almost lonely in its isolation, and sit on it, bringing my knees up and tucking them under my chin. I close my eyes and sigh at the serenity I feel. But my mood suddenly falls and I frown, my thoughts turning to Zero.

I guess it would be okay to forgive Zero. He was probably just angry and let it out on me. But why was he angry, I wonder. Well he has always been protective of me, though he didn't honestly show it. Saying that I should leave him alone or to not get involved when he knew it was dangerous. My thoughts led to a certain vampire I had been in love with for a while. While I can't say I was crazy in love with Kaname, I can say that he was the most precious to me. He saved my life. A shiver runs through my spine as I remember the night 10 years ago. He had saved me and given me another chance at life. I thought the only person I would ever truly love was Kaname and the Chairman. Both as a family. Until, that is, Zero came. I still remember those eyes, as his body was covered in blood, his eyes are what kept me glued to him. So deep and beautiful. However, Zero has been as he ever was, reserved and taciturn. We had a strange relationship. I didn't know what Zero thought of me and I could never tell what he was thinking, I could never understand. It would seem he cared, but whenever I take a step towards him, he takes two steps back. I sigh to myself. Zero is as precious to me now as Kaname. I would die for him. But what I felt for the two was somehow different

I look up at the sky, the sun is sinking. Before it gets too dark, I stand up and walk the way I had come, heading back to the cottage. I go through my window. As I enter the room, I smell what Zero is making. Pork fried with ginger. My favourite. He knows it's my favourite, but I wont budge. My stomach growls. I put a hand on it. I pull out my night-dress and a fresh pair of underwear and bra. I tip-toe to the bathroom and take a warm shower. Later, I go to my room and lie down on my bed. I suppose I drifted off because I groggily hear someone knocking on the door.

'Yuki, dinners ready.'

I don't get up. I'm too tired and exhausted. A drunk stupor. I hear the door open instead. Didn't I lock that door? I think drifting back into sleep. But not before I feel a warm blanket laid on top of me.

I wake up well into the night. I look at the clock, it's three AM. I look down at the blanket on top of me. Did Zero give this to me? Yes, I remember dimly, he did. How did he get in here? I think, he probably knows how to work all the locks, it's his house anyway. I lay back down. I should apologize, I think to myself. This trip isn't going to be any fun if I mess it up by being a stubborn child. I twist and turn, but I can't sleep. My stomach growls. I remember the smell of the pork. My mouth waters. I throw the blanket off my body and tip-toe towards the kitchen. Everything is dark and as I open the fridge, the light blinds me and the hum of it seems too loud to me. I see the delicious meal on a plate covered in plastic wrap. I take it out and rip the plastic off. I put it in the microwave to heat up. I take out the soy sauce and make my way to the couch. I sit and eat my meal.

I finish more then half the plate before I'm full and put the plastic on it again, after I put it back into the refrigerator, I wash my hands and walk back to my room. The hallways are dark but I try and ignore it. Before my hand rests on the handle of my door, I hear a rasp. I look towards Zero's room, where I hear the sound come from. I stand there for a while, my heart thumping. What was that? I don't move and am about to ignore the sound as a figment of my imagination when I hear it again. Followed by a moan and a thud. I walk towards his door, my heart thumping and my body shaking from head to toe. I put my ear on his door, there's no mistaking it's coming from in here. I put my hand on the knob and turn. The light from the moon falls on the bed which is unmade, the pillow and quilt are spread to the floor as if the person sleeping dragged themselves off the bed. The room is dark. I hear the sound of a thud again, I suck in my breath and look towards the figure in the far corner of the room. I hear a thud again, as he hits his head lightly on the wall behind him.

'Zero,' I whisper.

He stiffens. I feel him shake. He smells my blood, I know it. I walk cautiously towards him. Even from here I can see he's in so much pain. He hugs himself as he leans against the corner for support, his hand over his throat and his knees up to his face. I can hear his breath coming out in rasps. I kneel in front of him. I call him again. He doesn't move. I reach my hand forward and rest it on his shoulder.

'Zero, please take my blood.'

He looks up. His eyes glow the color of blood. He's controlling himself, I can see him trying to struggle against the demon that consumes him. He pulls his arms away from his body and leans towards me. He's not wearing a shirt I notice, only sweat pants. I blush under his stare. I notice that there's nothing separating our bodies expect for my thin night-dress. I know he needs me for my blood and he can't help it, but I kid myself into thinking that he doesn't look at anyone the way he does at me.

He rests his hand on my shoulder and lightly pushes me. I follow his movement and end up lying with my back on the floor. He follows me down. The cold metal of his chain lands over the curve above my breast as he leans forward and I shiver at the contact. He licks the area where he's to bite me, I almost gasp with the sensation that shoots through my body, I turn my hands into fists as to restrain them from encircling him into an embrace. Once again he apologizes, I think I hear a howl outside, and then suddenly prick of Zero's fangs. Such agony, I think. Then comes the excruciating pain of his sharp fangs biting into my neck. I put my hand on Zero's shoulder and let out a whimper, tears appearing in my eyes. Though it hurts I don't want Zero to stop. Because I know what comes after this. I feel the pleasure before the pain is gone. I sigh and relax a little. Zero moans and the feel of his mouth on my neck brings a surge of pleasure that roams through my body and we connect in an arbitral embrace exceeding intimacy. I put my hands behind his head as he plunges deeper and deeper, taking me as well as my blood with him. I feel his naked shoulder shiver under my touch as he keeps drinking. He pauses to lick my neck as a way to get the blood that had fallen between his mouth. I gasp involuntarily. I see him look up at me from the corner of his eyes. I feel the smile on his lips as he starts sucking again. I moan this time, a shiver runs through my body and my toes curl inward. Zero brings his hand behind my head and tilts it as a way to give him more access to my neck. The pleasure continues and I start to feel light headed when finally he stops. He takes his mouth away from my neck, his shoulders are hunched and he breathes heavily. His breath falling over my body and it burns. I am also breathing heavily, I notice. He turns up his head to look at me, his eyes apologetic.

'Sorry about the mess.'

He reaches for my neck again and starts licking. I stiffen, he usually tells me to go clean myself, or uses his shirt to clean it. I suppose, because he's not wearing one, he's using his mouth. I shiver and stifle a gasp, I involuntarily move my neck in an angle to give him space. When he's done he starts to sit up and I move my hands away from his shoulder, he also moves his hands away. I sit up after he leans away. We're quiet for a while. I feel him staring at me, yet I don't want to meet his eyes, afraid of what he'll see of my real feelings there.

He told me he knew about my feelings for Kaname, though the truth was Zero occupied my mind more than Kaname did most of the time. What I had felt for Kaname, I admit, was love, but what I felt for Zero consumed that feeling and built from it a relationship that wasn't exactly friendship, but which I would never allow to reach as lovers. Because Zero didn't feel that way about me. He didn't think of me as I thought of him. Even today he said I was a slut. I remembered my decision to apologize. I look up at him.

'Zero I-'

Before I can say anything, I see him lean towards me. Did he want more? I think. Instead he leans towards my chest and I feel his tongue touch the curve over my right breast. I stiffen. Using his tongue he creates a trail up towards my neck, to his bite marks. I sigh deeply, and feel a tightening in the pit of my belly, the trail that his tongue creates on my neck burns with intensity. He leans away, he doesn't face me. As if what he did wasn't intended.

'Sorry,' he says, swallowing, 'I, uh, missed a spot.'

I'm silent for a minute trying to compose myself. Then start thinking that I should come tomorrow and apologize then. Things were already more then a little awkward between us right now.

'Okay, I'll just… go then.'

I start to get up when I feel his hands on my wrist. I look down, he's holding my hand. I can't see his eyes, they are covered by his bangs, so I don't understand what he's thinking.

'Yuki…' he hesitates, tugs at my hand, I sit down, facing the other way. My face is a mixture of emotions and I don't want him to see.

'I'm sorry what I called you today, I was angry and I shouldn't have lost my temper on you. That guy was the one I was angry with,' he stops, I feel him shaking. I can tell he's restraining himself. I look at him square in the face, his eyes pierce through me and I can't look away.

'It's taking everything I have not to barricade them in their own home and burn those ingrates to the ground.'

My hands instinctively moves and I place my palm against his cheek, his features stiffen, then I feel his muscle's soothe as he relaxed his face in my hand.

'It's okay Zero, I didn't get hurt anyway, and you paid him back tenfold with that kick you gave him,' I pointed out, trying to lighten his mood.

He reaches up and rests his hand over mine and leans into my palm. My heart stops. I feel his skin under my touch and it burns. I am being filled with a mixture of feelings from pleasure to fear.

'Promise me something though,' he says.

'What is it?' I ask, curious. His eyes focus on mine.

'Don't ever wear something like that in front of a guy other then me again.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**- An Adamant Heart

The sun is bright and hurts my eyes when I open them. I turn to the other side of the bed. My head throbs and pounds against my skull. It's probably because of the drinking Zero had yesterday. My head suddenly clears. Zero. I reach up to my neck to feel the two puncture wounds on my neck. So that actually did happen, it felt like a dream. I blush. Strangely, I don't remember any pain from the bite, only pleasure. My face heats up when the thought enters my head and i force myself to get out of bed and wash up.

After getting dressed, I go to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. I find Zero there, already making omelettes.

'Good morning,' I say, in a cheerful voice. I didn't want him to be as awkward as I felt. He turns and looks at me.

'Morning,' he says with a straight face.

'I'll help with the cooking.'

He gives me a look. He knows better than anyone my amazing ability at making a simple meal- note the sarcasm.

'I got it, you can just set the table.'

I lay the table and take the orange juice out of the fridge. I take my place as he brings breakfast. I immediately start eating. After a while, I look up to see Zero staring at me. My heart jumps. I try to act normal and smile at him. I know I'm blushing, I know it.

'You don't feel dizzy?' he says suddenly.

'No,' I say, confused. Then it dawns on me, he must be asking because of the blood loss from yesterday night. I look down at my food, 'I was a little fuzzy this morning, but I'm okay now.'

I smile at him. He looks down. We eat in silence. When I'm about done my helping I hear him say,

'I'm sorry.'

I look at him. 'You said that already, and I'm really starting to get sick of the word,' I tell him, teasing.

He brings his face up and glares at me, 'I'm serious Yuki, you may brush this off as something you have to do to help a friend,' his hands turn into fists, 'but every time I drink from you, every single time, it makes me realize more than anything what I am, and what I'll become. A monster. You shouldn't trust me so easily. What if these little sessions we have aren't enough for me anymore?' He gets up from his chair and comes towards me, placing his hands forcibly on either side of my chair. Tilting my chair up so my face is inches from his. My heart thumps and blood rushes to my head. With a low and husky voice he says, 'What if I had killed you yesterday?' He brings his mouth to my ear, his hot breath sending shivers down my body, 'What if I want more and more of your blood, until I suck you dry.'

I let out a small sound. He stiffens, he realizes I'm scared. But he's not the one who scares me, it's what he's saying. He lets the chair come down, and rests his head on my shoulder. I'm shivering, he breaths deeply.

'I'm sorry,' he whispers.

I put my arms around him, and hold him to me.

'Zero, I trust you. I know you won't do anything to me, that's why I give you my blood. I know how you are, and I know you would never let yourself be taken over so easily.'

He's quiet. I know he doesn't believe me, but I'll keep telling him. I'll keep repeating myself until I finally jam it into his brain.

I didn't notice I was stroking Zeros hair until I feel him move uncomfortably under me. I let go, my face is on fire, as he moves away, I get up and go to the sink. I can't let him see me. I clean the dishes and go to my room.

In the afternoon, Zero tell me he's going into town for an errand. After he leaves, I decide to go and rent a movie, so we could both watch it tonight. Something scary would do. I put on my shoes and leave for town.

Half an hour later, I had gotten a movie and was buying popcorn at the supermarket. On the way home, I heard someone call my name, I turn to find Zero there, walking towards me. I smile at him. He looks at me, more like stares and I get nervous under his scrutiny.

'I came to get a movie for tonight,' I told him as a way to explain myself, pulling out my bag. He smiled at me. It was my turn to stare. Zero never smiled. There were less then a handful of times he had actually smiled. Let alone direct that smile at me. I suppose he was feeling more comfortable in this place of his childhood then i had thought. I smiled back at him, my face heating up. I would die for that smile. I mentally slapped myself. Relax yourself Yuki.

'What are you doing now?' I asked as a way to distract myself.

'I was going home.' he says. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want Zero to be locked up in his room, and me in mine.

'Can we get some ice cream?' I asked. He seemed amused.

'There's actually a really good ice cream in one of the parlours. Its right around the block actually. Should we go?' he asks, inclining his head. I stare at him. He was talking so normally, almost like a teenage boy. Which he was but never acted like. I blushed, this was a side of him I had never seen. I felt like giggling like the girls fawning over the night class.

I nodded, not wanting my voice to betray how I was feeling. He turns and I walk up to him. Usually he would walk faster, so there was some distance between us. Now I could see he was deliberately walking to match my pace. I didn't know how to take this. This was too different. I didn't know how to react. I felt awkward. Even though I knew I shouldn't.

We came to the ice cream parlour and I ordered a large sundae while Zero had a cup of coffee.

'That's really boring you know,' I told him, pointing at his steaming cup. He rolled his eyes as I took a spoonful of ice cream and put it in my mouth. It was delicious. I looked at Zero. He was looking out the window. Usually this would worry me, as he would have a dark and depressing atmosphere around him. Now, however, he seemed lost in thought, as if daydreaming. I stared at him. He was so beautiful, I noticed. His hair, his eyes, his smile. I wish I could take a picture of this moment. He looked so peaceful, I immediately felt light as well. For some reason I wanted time to stop. He saw me looking at him from the corner of his eyes, and my heart skipped a beat. Did he hear that? I saw his lips twitch up, only for a second though. I looked down and ate my ice cream. What was happeneing to me? I had always been awed at Zero's appearance, but never like this, I was finding him more and more attractive. I sigh, that wasn't it, I think to myself, his face hadn't changed, it was his attitude. But even thought he did act differently, I knew he was himself, just a little more expressive. I take another bite from the ice cream. We didn't talk, it was a peaceful atmosphere, and I didn't feel the need to talk, like I did most of the time.

I heard the bell to the door chime and I looked over. Two girls came in wearing a bikini and a see-through shirt barely covering their butt. They had probably come from the beach. They headed for the counter and started ordering. I looked at them, they had a perfect body, with long legs, a flat stomach, tanned skin, and long silky hair. I looked down, a little depressed. From the corner of my eyes, I saw one of the girls budge the other and point to our table. They were looking at Zero. I looked at him, he didn't notice, he was sipping his coffee. I saw one of them turn to the other and take out a lip gloss, the other loosened three of her buttons, slightly revealing her breasts. I swallowed hard. They wouldn't, would they?

Before I could answer the question, I saw them approaching the table. They would.

'Hey, I don't think I've seen you here before. You don't look like your from around here.' one of them said, flicking her hair back and leaning on the table, exposing her breasts. They didn't even notice me. Zero looked at them with bored eyes. What was wrong with him? They even seemed hot to me.

'No, my family owns a villa here,' he says, looking down at his coffee. He sounded slightly annoyed and bored, as if hotties flock to him everyday.

The girls eyes met. They seemed to be having telepathic conversations with each other. The other girl, who had applied the lipgloss, looks him over.

'That's really awesome.'

By this time, every guy in the parlour, with or without their girlfriend was staring at the two girls. I looked down, I felt like a third wheel. I wanted to fall down a hole and stay there until doomsday. My face was heating up. Just yesterday I was thinking how it would be if Zeros eyes were only for me. But what did I have to offer him? My blood? Was it enough?

Though Zero did things to me that confused me sometimes, there could be a million reasons as to why he did it. Like that almost-kiss. He had said he acted that way because he was still asleep. I looked at him now, he had finally looked up at them, though he still looked annoyed, he was talking to them. It was a good thing that since he'd come here he had opened up a little and was acting differently. But this feeling wasn't like the one we had when he had smiled at me and brought me here. I felt hatred, towards the girls and Zero. I had a gut-wrentching feeling and I wanted to throw something out the window. Why was he talking to them? If he wasn't like that at the academy, why was he like that here? And why were these bimbos throwing themselves at him?

I suddenly came back to myself. What was wrong with me? It was Zeros life, I had no right to decide what he had to do. I was just a friend. A childhood friend who had baked cookies with him, who had been taught riding a two-wheeler by him, who had gone to his bed when there had been thunderstorms in the night, who had begged him to stay in the living room until three in the morning waiting for Santa on Christmas eve, who had annoyed him to no end, who trusted him, who needed him. I felt like crying. My insides felt heavy and tight, my throat clogged. I stood up from the table. I needed to pull myself together. Zero looked at me, his brows furrowed.

'I'm going to the restroom,' I told him. He nodded. The two girls looked me up and down, and give me dirty looks.

I walked to the restroom and started taking deep breaths. Breath, Yuki, breath, relax, I told myself. I washed my hands, which were sticky from the ice cream. I looked at myself in the mirror. Large chocolate brown orbs looked back at me. I never did put on much makeup, and I had never tried too hard with looking attractive. Who was I kidding? I resolved with myself. I went back out. They were still talking, but Zero had lost interest and instead was taking out his wallet and heading towards the counter to pay for the coffee and ice cream. I went towards him.

'So, we'd just love to come and see your villa.'

I froze, I couldn't believe it. They were already thinking about coming over. Well it was Zero's villa so he could go and invite anyone he wanted. At the same time bile rose to my mouth and i wanted to scream. I wanted to tear their hair off. Instead, I walked towards him, and tap his arm softly. The girls looked at me, envy and disgust clear in their eyes. I felt smug for a second.

'I'm going to go on ahead of you,' I told him. I started walking towards the door when I felt him tug my hand. I look back, Zero didn't look at me. Instead facing them, he smiled, but not the smile I had seen from him before he brought me here, more like a smirk.

He pulled me to him, letting me fall against his body and brought a hand down across my shoulders, resting it there, looking smug.

'I don't think my girlfriend would approve of that.'

My mouth dropped. So did theirs. It took a few seconds for my brain to understand what he had said. Suddenly it took the energy I had to calm the beating of my fragile heart.

'W-What?' I asked, my mouth gaping at him. A small, yet profound hapiness bloomed inside me but I ignore it as a figment of my imagination.

The girls looked at me. Confusion coloring their features. I didn't blame them. I wasn't fit for Zero as a girlfriend, any idiot could see that. Zero's smile didn't leave him when he squeezed my shoulder. I realized he wanted them to leave, however seemed to be enjoying the reactions taking place on my face. I sighed and looked at them. Smiling as sweetly as I could and said,

'Sorry girls, he's mine.'

My heart was jumping out of my body. I felt Zeros hand twitch and relax on my shoulder as I said that. He steered me away from the girls still gaping at us and left the shop. We walked out and Zero kept his hand on my shoulder until we were a fair distance away from them. Suddenly, he burst out laughing. I looked at him. This was very new. He never laughed, small chuckles and the sort, but he had never burst out like he did now. Though it was not loud and annoying. It sounded soft and sweet. Like the laugh of a little boy. I looked at him, my heart thumping. He was so beautiful. His eyes turned up, there was a small dimple on his left cheek. I wanted to take a picture and keep it in front of my eyes forever. His laugh was contagious and I found myself laughing along with him. 5 minutes later, I was on the ground, my arms supporting my stomach. Finally the laughing began to subside and I got up. Zero looks at me, a smile lighting his face. I smile back. I didn't understand why he seemed so happy.

'So I'm yours now?' he asks me, his head tilted, he was trying not to smile, but it tugged the corner of his lips. I blushed. He lets out a laugh.

'I'm joking Yuki.'

I sighed, I wouldn't know what to say to that. We start walking back home. The sun was descending. It was almost night. When we got home I told Zero we would watch the movie after Dinner. I washed up and came to the kitchen to help prepare the food. We didn't talk as we ate. But it wasn't awkward. I kept stealing glances at him. Though he wasn't in the same jolly mood he had been a few hours ago, it was more of a serene and happy feeling emanating from him. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either.

After we finished, we both went to the living room which had a flat-screen While Zero started up the movie, I went and put the pack of popcorn in the microwave.

'Which movie is it?' he asks me from the living room. The cover for the movie was blank since it was rented.

'The Grudge,' I said, it sounded more like a question.

'I've heard of it,' he said, 'it's supposed to suck.'

I raise an eyebrow, 'Only a guy would say that since they think they have to act tough. I heard a lot of people say that it was the scariest movie ever.'

He snorted. I pouted, to no one in particular. The popcorn were done by now and I came back to the room. He was already sitting waiting for me, remote in hand, the main menu on the screen of the TV. I had brought a blanket and used the pillow of the sofa as a barrier between my eyes and the screen, to protect myself from images I wouldn't want to see.

Zero sat smug on his side of the sofa. Halfway through the movie, I had already grabbed Zero with a whelp twice, had screamed, once I had dived behind him, hiding myself. Now I held onto his hand, they were white from the pressure I was exerting. Zero sat bored, pushing me away whenever I tried to grab him, and even had the nerve to yawn in the middle of it. When we were about to reach the end, I had already had enough and I was thinking about how I would sleep. We were surrounded by forests and in a house that had been abandoned for Lord knew how long. I didn't want to sleep in a dark room alone. But there was no way Zero would let me sleep anywhere near him, i decided to ask him if he would. When the movie finished, leaving me shaken, Zero got up and started closing the TV and the DVD Player. I get up and wait for a bit, when he didn't say anything to acknowledge me standing there, I said,

'I'm going to sleep now,' he looked at me, we were both silent.

I looked down, I couldn't ask him. I look up and smile, walking away.

'Good night.'

'Night,' he says in a low voice.

I left. I turned on all the lights on my way to the bedroom. I changed into my night-dress. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth before going to bed. Thank the Lord the light switch was beside my bed. I didn't want to run for the covers as soon as I closed it if it was on the other side of the room.

I lay in my bed, breathing heavily. I saw light appear from under my door, then disappear. Zero was probably going to bed now. I closed my eyes, and pulled the covers over my head. My heart thumped, and I was imagining the worst when I heard a sound. A snap. I stiffened, my breathing stopped, my heart jumped and a cold sweat forming over my forehead. All this in little over a second. There was someone outside my window. I started shaking. It would take four steps to get to the door, then I had to open the door then it would be even darker outside. Then what? Go to Zero? I knew that was useless, but the only thing on my mind right now was to be with Zero. He was the only one I could feel entirely safe with. I reached for the switch and turned the light on and remove the covers. It was silent. I looked towards the window, it was dark outside. I walk towards it, the night chill making me shiver, as if I wasn't already shaking. With my heart thumping, I looked out. There was movement and I saw shadow, I look closer. It was a squirrel. It stiffens when it saw me, it looks at me for a second with his giant deep eyes. Then he looks away and sprints towards a tree. I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. I lay my hand on the windowpane and took gulps of air into my system. How cliche was that. Scared of a squirrel, how pathetic, I wanted to laugh, but I dont since I'm still scared. I looked at the door, I take my pillow and close the light, leaving the room. I walk to Zero's room and stand outside it. I hesitate, then I raise my hand and knock lightly. There was no sound from the other side. I opened the door. Zero lay on the bed, the moonlight silhouetting his body. I stood there for a second, staring at him. Suddenly I saw him move, he turns and looks at me.

'Yuki…what-'

'I'm sorry, did I wake you?'

He pushes himself up, 'No, I was awake.'

I stood there for a few seconds, both of us silent. Zero stares at me, wondering what I was doing here.

'Can I sleep here?' I burst out before I could help it. He looks surprised for a second then nods his head. I head towards his bed as he moves towards his own side. I lay down and bring the blanket over me. Almost immediately I feel a rush of security and take a deep breath.

I feel more then hear the harmony of our breathing.

'I was scared,' I say, as a way to explain myself.

'Hmm,' he acknowledges his voice heavy in sleep.

I turn to him, his back is to me. I reach up my hand and use my finger and moving over the length of his back, as if to draw something. He stiffens then relaxes, but not before I feel a shudder go through him.

'Thank you Zero,' I whisper in the dark. I hear him mumble something and I smile to myself. 'You really weren't scared?' I ask, making small- talk.

'Not in the least,' he answers. There is a hint of a smile in his voice. I smile too.

I stop when I see shadows outlining the room, my eyes are open and I will them to close but not before I see a black shadow in the corner, like that girls hair which splayed out as she revealed herself. I whimper quietly and close my eyes, I slide towards Zero until my forehead is resting against his back and my knees are tucked in, I feel him go still. I keep sliding my finger over his back.

'Yuki?'

'Sorry Zero. I can't really tell if you're alive if you stay quiet like that.'

His breathing is coming out in irregular patterns.

'Zero, are you scared too,' I whisper, curious.

He pauses for a second, then starts to chuckle, I feel him reverberate under my touch.

'You could say that,' he whispers.

'I knew it,' I whisper/scream to him.

'Whatever Yuki.'

'Zero,' I say sternly.

'Yuki,' he rebounds, playfully.

I liked how he said my name. Maybe it was the fact that we were alone in the dark or the fact that I was starting to see him more than just a brother-figure, but the way he said my name made my stomach do weird things. He turns and lies on his back so I can see the side of his face, my fingers trail off his back. I suddenly miss the contact. I feel Zero take my hand, I look up at him, surprised.

'Continue,' he says, his eyes closed.

I enclose my hand in his, it feel warm. I start wandering my small hands over his large square ones. From this kind of contact I realized that Zero was actually a guy. I didn't mean in a literal sense, I knew he was a guy, but he was _a _guy, a male, a man. And I was lying on his bed, in the middle of the night, somewhere deep in the forest. I blushed and my heart pounded hard against my chest. The only reason, the ONLY reason, I didn't run out of the room screaming Bloody Mary was because I knew this man was Zero. I huddled even closer, my head now lay on his shoulder. Usually coming this close was more then invading Zero's personal space, but today he didn't push me away. He felt so warm, and safe and solid. Yet I felt he could disappear, like thin air.

I continued roaming my hands over his, I felt his breathing deepen, a sure sign he was asleep. I open my eyes and look at up at him again. His features were illuminated by the moon and his face depicted a childish demeanour he only showed when he was defenceless, which wasn't all the time. I leaned against my elbow and brought my face to his, his breathing was deep and his eyes weren't furrowed into a frown like it usually is. He was so beautiful. Almost as an impulse, I bring my lips slowly towards his, my eyes closed, then I stop, my lips less then an inch from his. I laughed to myself. What was I doing? Instead I place my lips on his cheek and kiss him lightly. He moans softly, and my heart thumps uncomfortably when i think he's woken up but then he only turns his head to the side, sighing in his sleep. A small smile adorns his features. I move back to my position on the bed and closed my eyes. My hands still in his.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**- A Bittersweet Memory

I was having a dream of a memory, a bitter sweet memory. One night I was sick and Kaname came and stayed with me until I had fallen asleep, even though I wished for him to stay until I awoke, he was gone by the time I opened my eyes the next morning. The loneliness I felt then was enough to make me want to die. I felt that loneliness again as I lay on the bed, drunk in my sleep, lying in the intermission between dream and reality. The heaviness of the heart and the hollowness of emotions that strangled your throat. I felt my eyes wet, I opened them and realized I was crying in my sleep. I reach my hand up to wipe my tears from my cheek, and I feel something encircle my wrists gently. I open my eyes and look to my side to find Zero, wide awake and staring at me with a look of pity- or was it sorrow- and something else I couldn't place, in his eyes. I look back at him questioningly. I was embarrassed to have made such a ruckus in the morning, when the day hadn't even started yet. He pulls my hand down and moves his body towards me, his face coming closer to mine. My heart pounds but I don't move as his face enhances to mine, my eyes are glued to his. I close my lids when his face comes an inch from mine. I feel another tear drop from my eyes to my cheek, and I feel something else on my cheek, I don't open my eyes as I feel Zero lick my tears away. He was so gentle that I let another tear fall from the pure beauty that is Zero. He licks that one too. His soft tongue as light as a feathers touch. At that moment, I felt an emotion inside me overflow. I was confused by this emotion, it was excitement and pain and happiness, the likes of which I had never felt before. Suddenly, it hit me as hard as lightning, I understood this feeling as I knew that every molecule in my body existed. I was in love with him. In love with Zero Kiryuu. My eyes shoot open. My breathing comes out in a gasp and my heart hammers, strangely at the same time, I feel at utter peace with myself, as if i had always known this reality but had only now come to terms with it. My memories suddenly turns to what happened that morning, when that loneliness was encompassing my very being, I found Zero outside my door, as quickly as it had come, the feeling of loneliness was gone. He had also left, but not before making me leave the emotion behind. The floor was warm where he had sat that day, and so was my heart.

He kisses my wet eyes and leans away and looks at me a last time before getting up. He didn't ask me what I had dreamt about and I didn't want to tell him. I felt light. I felt my soul had left my body and it was watching us from above, I felt like a different person. As Zero walked to the bathroom, I stared after him, my heart was melting, I didn't want him to leave, I didn't want even one second to come between us, I wanted to gaze at him forever. I wanted so much. I was so selfish. I felt ridiculous yet strangely right, as if here is where I was supposed to be, as if my destiny was leading me to the right path. I didn't want to be anywhere but here. I got up, I suddenly imagined my face after sleep, I had to wash up. I walk to my room and get my clothes to take a shower. I go back to my room when I'm done and hear Zero in the kitchen preparing breakfast. I'm suddenly nervous, how am I going to act towards him? I'll probably make a fool of myself. Finally, I hear Zero call my name to tell me the food was ready. How my heart jerked and my stomach jerked when he called my name. I walk to the kitchen. Why the hell was that Rumi poem that I heard about from Yori going round and round in my head, so much so that I was rehearsing it.

Because of your love

I have lost my sobriety

I am intoxicated

By the madness of love

In this fog

I have become a stranger to myself

I'm so drunk

I've lost the way to my house

In the garden

I see only your face

From trees and blossoms

I inhale only your fragrance

Drunk with the ecstasy of your love

I can no longer tell the difference

Between drunkard and drink

Between Lover and Beloved

UGH. When I reach the entrance to the kitchen, my forehead starts to perspire, how will I act with him? Can I actually face him? But I want to see him so bad, it's like a yearning. I felt like the rope at tug-of-war, one side telling me to not embarrass myself in front of him by being the reckless idiot that I am, and the other side-the stronger side- tempting me with the happiness and the sheer pleasure of just being near him. As I was debating what to do, Zero appears before me. I freeze, staring at him. He gives me an exasperated look, one side of his mouth curving into a smile. I'm not breathing.

'Where have you been? I called you three times.'

Oh Lord, I can't breath, why does he have to be so beautiful, I will myself to smile at him. I'm thinking it came out as a grimace because he suddenly looked worried.

'Yuki-'

I suddenly swivel around him, entering the kitchen. I hear him hesitate before he follows me inside. I sit on the table, he sits across me. I eat while looking down, every nerve in my being is begging and yelling at me to look at him, to just look at him. But I restraint all this. I feel his eyes on me for more then half the course of the meal. I keep my eyes glued to my French toast- which were extremely delicious by the way- and finish my meal before he does, even though my mouth is dry and my stomach churns like I'm on a roller coaster. My body can't handle the physical strain anymore and I look up. I see Zeros shoulders slumped, his face a mixture of emotions. I almost get up and jump to him, but I restrain myself. Zero doesn't like showing his emotions, so I cant be too jumpy about it either.

'Zero, what's wrong?' worry coloring my every word. He looks up at me, surprised that I've seen him, then away, embarrassed that he would show any emotion on his face. He runs his hands through his hair, partly covering his face.

'Are you mad at me?'

I stare at him, my mouth dropping, after a few moment, I start to say something but incoherent words come out of my mouth. He looks at me, confused. I shut my mouth, and take a deep breath. I look him straight in the eye and I don't want to look away, he seems surprised by my intensity and averts his eyes. Did he mean about this morning? Does he think I didn't like him coming so close to me? That I was mad at him for comforting me? That I was avoiding his eyes because i was mad?

'I'm not mad at you,' I whisper to him. He looks at me. I smile at him, 'I'm just feel a little confused.'

He returns my gaze and nods slowly, 'I know what you mean.'

My smile disappears and I look at him seriously, his brows furrow and I almost laugh, 'actually the thing is Zero, I think this place is haunted.'

He looks at me for a second, shocked, then as he realizes that I haven't gotten over the movie we watched last night, he rolls his eyes. I smirk.

'I personally think we're both cursed, what about you?'

'I personally think you're crazy,' he says looking at me from the corner of his eyes, breaking into a smile. I forget to breath. It takes everything I have to keep the smug smile on my face as if his very being in this kitchen doesn't faze my existence. I can't tell him, not now when I'm so close to him. I don't want to lose what we have if I confess. That will only make things awkward between us.

We're on the train, going back to the academy. It's going to take three hours to get back, and every second seems like an eternity to a girl sitting in the same booth as the guy she's in love with. Not to mention the space in so small that our knees keep touching as the train jerks from side to side. Our seats face each other and the door to our compartment is closed. Zero seems oblivious to the battle raging inside me. His elbows are on the windowsill, he looks out the window with his chin resting on his hands. I steal glances at him, but whenever I do, I reprimand myself. Zero doesn't like to be stared at. An hour and a half passes before a trolley of pastries come our direction of the train cart. My stomach rumbles, my face turns red and Zero gets the hint. He pays for the pastries and two cups of tea. I had already spent my money on the trip. Again, Zero was there to save the day, I think sarcastically, while at the same time, I blush. I put the tea on the cup holder, waiting for it to cool, while Zero starts drinking.

'Isn't it hot?' I ask, surprised at myself for not stammering. I mentally pat myself on the back.

He nods, 'It's how I like it,' this information is unnecessarily added to the section of my brain where math doesn't enter. I take a bit of my pastry, there's whip cream on top and I'm not surprised when Zero looks at me, amusement crossing his features. I groan to myself, do I have to embarrass myself all the time? I reach up and wipe my hand on the side of my mouth. Zero suddenly reaches his hand out and wipes the side of my mouth.

'The other side idiot,' he tells me smiling and wiping the whip cream away. It could have been me being paranoid, but I felt his thumb linger on my mouth longer then it should have. He puts the trace of cream into his mouth. He sees me looking at him.

'It's good,' he says, smiling. My face heats up and my heart thumps, but I do nothing but smile back and bring my hand with the pastry towards him.

He looks at me then the pastry them me.

'Take it,' I say. Smile still in place.

He leans towards me, my smile disappears, he brings his mouth the pastry still in my hands, he takes a small bite. I feel his chin on my fingertips, and they burn with the yearning to touch him more, then he leans back.

'I don't want it,' he says, I see a small color appear on the side of his face. I smile to myself, he was probably embarrassed to act as a typical teenager. My eyes travel from his blush to his lips. I wonder how it would be to kiss him? Not on the cheek as I had done, but on the lips, an intimate display of feelings. I started to wonder how soft his lips would be against mine, how silky his hair, how powerful his body. I suddenly jerk back to reality, He was staring at me, what had just happened, I had never thought of that before. For as long as i had been with him I had never had those kinds of thoughts enter my mind. I had always seen him as a brother-figure that I had never considered any desire expressed between us. I felt my face turn red as a tomato. But I knew this desire was only on my part. There was nothing special about me. Why would Zero want someone like me when he had rejected those beautiful and curvy girls in the parlour? I hear him call my name.

'Sorry,' I said, looking at him.

'I said, we're almost here, you'd better get ready,' he says.

'Oh yeah,' I stammer, looking out the window as the trees flash by. 'We're almost here.'

Suddenly I feel that our vacation had ended too early, I wanted to stay at least another day. I comforted myself with the thought that I would see Zero at school too. However less the interaction would be.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**- Boundaries crossed

An hour later I was sitting on my bed in my room shared with Yori. Yori had called to tell me that she'd be coming back a little late. Apparently she had gone to visit her fiancé. As soon as I got home, I took a shower and lay on my bed, not bothering to unpack. Already I wanted to see his face. I wonder what he was doing? Knowing him, he was probably sleeping or with the chairman. I sat up, I hadn't seen the chairman since I had come back. I get up and go towards the chairman's quarters, happy to have an excuse to see Zero. I exit the dorm and walk towards the chairmans office building. As I rounded the corner of the building, I bumped into someone.

'Oh, I'm so sorry,' I say, I look up to see an amused Kaname standing before me.

'It's good to see you Yuki,' he says, the smile never leaving his face, I smile back.

'You too Kanme,' I say. We're both surprised with my reply. One, I never call him Kaname, without adding honorifics. Two, I have never said a sentence to him in which one word was devoid of a stammer. And three, I'm sure both of us felt the rhythm of my heart. Which was in perfect sync, not jerking and thumping as it usually did. We were both speechless for a second before I broke the silence, blushing.

'How was your vacation?' I ask, smiling.

He looks at me and hesitates a second before answering, 'It was rather busy, I wished that I had seen more of you.'

He wanted a reaction from me, I almost sensed it. All he got was a smile and an apology from me. Before things could get awkward- note the sarcasm- I suddenly heard Zero call my name from behind me. My heart picked up a notch and I didn't miss the look that passed through Kaname's usually controlled features. Surprise, anger, and hurt colour his expression. I felt my heart reach out to him, but the look was gone as soon as it had come. As Zero came closer, my heart thumped with each step he took and I'm sure Kaname noted the pleasure in my voice as I greeted him.

'It's good to see you again Kiryuu,' says Kaname, his voice leaked with sarcasm, but the tone of it wasn't exactly cold. Zero returned it with monotone.

'Kuran,' he says simply as a way to acknowledge his existence. I could hardly restrain the joy from my face as I looked at Zero, it felt I had to make up for the half-hour I hadn't seen him to drink up his demeanour. I felt Kaname look from me to him to me again. I look at him, the smile still on my face. He smiles gorgeously at me, his eyes are pained. He comes towards me and kisses my forehead. I feel Zero stiffen beside me.

'It's good to see you again, Yuki' he says. Then he turns around and walks away. I glance at Zero and see him giving Kaname a death glare. I tug on his sleeve, rolling my eyes. He turns away from me.

'The chairman called us for dinner.'

He simply says as he walks away. I stand there stunned, I didn't realize that Zero would return to being reserved as soon as we got home. I wanted to cry, I wanted to scream, tears pricked my eyes. I held them back and look down, biting my lip. I hoped with all my might that the boundaries I had crossed these passed days didn't disappear.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**- A Moonlit Path

While we had dinner with the chairman he didn't stop fussing over me about the trip, so I didn't have time to talk to Zero. It's funny, while I was sitting there I didn't think I wanted anything else then to just be near him. But as I walked back to my dorm, the emptiness and the things I didn't do and should've done dropped down on me and I was suddenly depressed. I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted to be with him now and forever. I sigh, and look up at the sky filled with stars. As the academy was located in the forest and there were hardly any lights on, the stars shone brightly and winked at me. The moon was bright and guided my path, creating a bright blue walkway to my dorm. As I imagined the loneliness of my dorm, my steps slowed. I didn't want to go back. So, instead, I turned right and headed for the rose garden. The garden was a little walk away from the girls dorm but was near the boys dorm. But since it was covered with rosebushes i didnt have to worry about anybody seeing me when I got inside. I go there with Yori sometimes. We always went there whenever we wanted to talk about something private. It was there that she had told me about her being engaged. I finaaly arrive at the garden, either side of the path were blooming with red and white roses. I knew inside there were all different colors of roses at different sections. I went through the entrance and instantly felt I was in a fairytale. The garden was enclosed by an expanse of brick walls with vines dancing on them. The moonlight reflected off the small stream gliding across the path, the roses were big and in full- bloom, the leaves and bushes were swaying with the wind, and when they did, petals would fall and float in the air. Everything was dark and all I could hear was the wind and the trickling of the stream. I walked to the swing hanging from the only tree in the garden. I sat on the hard wood and started moving myself slowly.

I started thinking about Zero, it scared me how badly I wanted to look at his face, I wanted to feel his presence, I wanted to know that he was here. I wanted _him_. It scared the hell out of me. I had never felt like this before, my mind was fuzzy and my stomach clenched and my heart was tight and yearning. Even so, I felt light. I wanted to fly. I wanted to jump off the roof of the nearest building and test gravity to see if I had defied it. I knew I was being stupid and irrational. I was obsessing over him, but I did love him, so I wanted to indulge in him. I wanted to think of him forever. I wanted to be with him forever.

I hear a twig snap and jerk my head around to find Zero standing there. My heart jerks and I tell myself to breath. I knew he snapped the twig on purpose to let me know he was here, otherwise I would never have heard his swift movements. I blushed hard, glad that there wasn't enough light to illuminate it. It was amazing how embarrassed I was with seeing him the instant I was thinking about being with him forever. It felt he had heard every word I had said. My face burned uncomfortably. I knew that was ridiculous. Zero wasn't a mind reader, even so, I was cautious about what he would say next. He didn't talk for a few minutes, but then he spoke.

'What are you doing here?' he asks, his voice is like a whisper and my heart starts to beat fast. didn't he notice these reactions, I'm sure his vampire instincts could pick up the quickening of my heartbeat and the shortness of breath, the blood rushing to my face. If he did, he probably ignored it or didn't think anything of it. I was suddenly depressed, he would probably say I was being stupid if I told him I like him. He would never think of me like that. Tears threatened to come out but I forced them back, and made my voice steady as I answered to him.

'It's the last day before school and guardian duties start so I was just taking a break before everything turns hectic,' I tell him, the silent atmosphere diminishing as I spoke.

I turn around and start swaying on the swing, not really going back and forth, but taking slow rounds,

'What about you?' I ask.

'I saw you walk in here from the dorm.'

I jump, his voice coming suddenly loud, I turn and find his body a small distance from my back. He held onto the edge of my swing and pushed slowly, I blushed. I felt like a child, yet strangely, I felt loved. I took pleasure in the fact that Zero would never do this to just anyone. I felt a powerful surge of protectiveness come from him, like when we were kids and I would force him to push me, he would do it gently since I would easily fall from the unstable swing. I felt giddy, and laughed to myself.

'What's so funny,' he asks, his voice getting high and low as I swung back and forth, towards and away from him. I enjoyed the feelings of his palms slowly and gently pushing my back. The contact sent shivers through my body.

'I was remembering when you used to push me on the swing when we were younger,' I said, my voice high since I felt giddy.

I heard him chuckle. My heart soared, and beat harder against my ribcage.

'I remember, I never wanted to go outside and you used to drag me from my room to push you on this thing. You were so stubborn, no scratch that, you're still stubborn,' he says, a smile evident in his voice.

'Well you were always so quiet and boring, but I always had so much fun playing with you,' I said, pouting.

He was silent and our talk suddenly came to a halt. I wonder what he was thinking. He stated to slow the strength of the pushes so I soon came to stop. His hands rested on the ropes holding the swing above me. His firm body was almost pressing against mine. It suddenly became very hard to breath.

'Yuki…' he whispers.

I want to turn around, but I knew I would kiss him if I did. I knew it. My heart is thumping and I'm afraid he can hear it. But I wanted to kiss him. I'm about to twist my head when he speaks again.

'Are you afraid of me?' he ask just as softly as before.

I freeze for a second. Then I get off the swing and turn to him in surprise. What was he thinking? There was no light for me to see his expression, on top of that his hair covered his eyes. I wanted to know what he was thinking. How could he ever think I was afraid of him. I suddenly realize that he did, in fact, notice the reactions of my heart whenever he came near me.

I take a step towards him, his hands still holding the ropes of the swing. I bring my hand to his face and push his hair away. He looks surprised and I see his hands twitch where they hold the ropes. As he relaxes, his expression returns. Sincere and soft and sad. I want to cry. He looks away from my stare.

'Zero, there is no way I would ever be afraid of you. You're the only person in this world who I would never in my life be afraid of.'

He looks at me, 'Never say never.'

'Never.'

He looks at me, and I look at him. I don't break my gaze from his. I would never leave him, I love him. I sigh and lets go of his hair, before moving my hand away, I flick his hair to the side so that I can see his eyes. He's looking at me. I smile at him as I recede my hands.

'That's better.'

He smiles at me and my heart breaks. I'm glad he didn't ask me why my heart would act the way it did when he was near me, I wouldn't know what to say.

'I'm going back now,' I say after a moment of silence, wrapping my arms around myself, 'goodnight Zero.'

'Goodnight Yuki,' he says, he brings his hand to my face and pushes a strand of hair on my face behind my ears. I don't breathe. The places where his hands touch my face tingles. I don't want to move, I want to stay with him all night, I want time to stop. There are so many things I want. Selfish things. I want to cry again, but I don't, I smile to him and walk out of the garden back to my dorm.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**- An Indulgance

Classes start the next day and I see the same number of familiar faces, but it strange how I don't notice any of them. Once I'm in class, my eyes roam around the room until they fall on Zero, and that's where they stay. I try not to be suspicious and turn my head towards the front of class, manoeuvring my eyes to look at him for more then half the class. My eyes would be covered by my hair so no one could notice the pleasure I took to my new indulgence. Unfortunately, he would randomly disappear for half the classes and during lunch, so I didn't see much of him throughout the day. My heart would fall and I would feel sick. I would feel like skipping as well, but I knew i would just gloom around my room alone. So I stayed through the lessons. I'd spend the class with my head down, feeling sorry for myself. I performed guardian duty all by myself too. Since it was the first day, not many students were back so there weren't many screaming girls to herd off. Still, a females pheromone would build up with even a few days without seeing the night class. Kaname greeted me and I tried to smile, though it looked forced.

I spent the rest of the week like that, my heart shrinking more and more every time Zero wasn't there. One day, the chairman called me for dinner, and immediately my mood lightened to one of excitement. I quickly got ready and almost ran to the chairman's when it was time. When I got there the chairman greeted me but I didn't see Zero. I asked the chairman where he was.

'Oh Yuki dear, he had an important duty from the Vampire Association. He absolutely had to go,' he told me. I turned away from him so he wouldn't see the tears threatening to come. He called my name and I turn to him smiling.

'Sorry father, I thought I heard something, What are you making?'

He instantly became happy when I called him father, forgetting about my reaction. He told me to sit and he would bring the food in. We had dinner with him talking animatedly. I tried to keep up, however exhausted I was- how love makes one diploid of strength. When he was done, I help him put the dishes away.

'Yuki, what would you like for your birthday?' the chairman asks as I finish cleaning the dishes. Oh my Lord, I had been so caught up with Zero I didn't even notice it was my birthday tomorrow. I smile at him.

'It's okay chairman, I don't need anything. Just a big cake.'

He smiles widely, 'But I want to get you a present.'

I groan inwardly, the chairman had the most strange gifts to give. But it was okay when he asked Yori or Zero what I wanted, but since Yori wasn't here, I had to be prepared for the worse. I just hoped he had asked Zero.

I thank the chairman for dinner and leave. I make a final round of the academy to see if anybody is breaking curfew, when I'm satisfied with the results I go back to my dorm and take a shower. I wear my night-dress and get into bed. The room is dark and my heart hammers against my chest. Almost as an impulse, I suddenly remember the movie at the villa, I bring the covers to my face and close my eyes. Stupid movie. On top of that I didn't have Zero to make me feel safe. Again the heart-wrenching feeling comes back. I've hardly seen him all week and since we don't have school tomorrow I'm going to see even less of him. He had changed so much, he was so open and happy at the villa. He acted so distant now, only saying morning or giving me a monotone answer when I asked him a question. Tears were forming but didn't fall, because at that moment I heart a sound. My heart stops, then it accelerates and so does my breathing. I don't move, don't make a sound. My heart is the only thing I hear, banging against my ribcage. I don't move, and when finally I'm about to dismiss it, I hear it again. It was a soft noise, like a soft thud. I grab my alarm clock, since that's the only thing near me, and I turn towards the noise. There is a figure at my window and I see the shadow of a human figure on my floor. My throat is dry and no sound comes out, suddenly, the window opens and I move away from the figure as it comes in. I fall from my bed and land on the floor with a soft thud, with my blood pumping, I get up and run towards the door, I see the dark figure come towards me and I notice I'm still holding the alarm clock. I throw as hard as I can at the figure. I hear a grunt, and realize that it sounded familiar. Before I can do anything, it takes hold of my wrist and puts a hand on my mouth, I scream but only a muffled sound comes out. I try hitting it to no avail.

'Why the hell are you so afraid?' it asks.

I stop screaming and he moves his hand away. I turn to the silhouette.

'Zero?' my voice is shaking.

'I'm sorry I scared you.'

My knees give in and I fall. Zero takes hold of me and we're both on our knees. He's hugging me and I'm breathing like I've just run a marathon. He strokes my hair gently as I try to control my shaking. As I get a hold of myself, I push him away. He looks at me shocked.

'What are you doing here?' I yelled/ whisper to him.

He looks down sheepishly and reaches for the alarm clock I threw at him. He turns it towards me, its glow in the dark so I can see its 12:15. I raise my eyebrow at him. He smiles. Damn him.

'Happy Birthday.'

I blink at him, my scrawl disappearing. He broke curfew (even though he's a guardian, but still) to come here to the girls dorm after his mission, climbed the tree outside my window, and scared the living hell out of me to tell me that. However, undeniably sweet that was, I was still mad at him for giving me the scare of my life. But I knew I had already forgiven him when he had smiled at me.

I sigh and smile at him, 'Is that all? You could have told me in the morning,' I say raising an eyebrow.

His smile widens, 'No that's not all.'

He reaches for his pocket, his hair falls over his eyes. As I look at him, I realize how much I've missed him the past week. He looks up. I think I see his cheeks turn red, but I can't be sure. He hands me a velvet box. I laugh when the first thought that comes to mind is a ring, even though I wish to God it was true. I look at him and raise an eyebrow, he's averting his eyes from mine, looking everywhere except at me. I smile to myself and open the box with a dull click. My mouth drops and I feel my eyes bulge, it's a necklace, with a silver chain, and a small, delicate opal stone shaped as a teardrop falling from the middle of the chain. It looks expensive, I look up at him, he's smirking at my reaction.

'I knew you'd like it,' he says, smug.

'How much was it?' I ask.

He shrugs, 'What does that matter?'

'Because it looks expensive,' I say, my mouth still gaping. He frowns.

'I got it because I thought you'd like it, I'll take it back if you don't.'

As he reaches for it, I snatch it away. He smiles, 'I guess not.'

I smile at him, and before I can control myself, I throw my arms around him in an embrace. He stiffens for a second then he hugs me back.

'Thank you,' I whisper in his ear. I feel him swallow awkwardly. I pull away from him, I look down again at the gift.

'Can I wear it?' I ask, looking at him again. He smiles.

'It's not mine is it?'

'No I guess not,' I smile.

I take the necklace out of the box but before I can open the clasp, Zero takes it from me. I look at him questioningly, he signals for me to turn around. I do as he says. I see his arms come from around me, holding each end of the necklace in either hand. I blush and my heart hammers more then it was when I was afraid a second ago. As he brings it towards me, his hands slide on my neck as he adjusts the necklace. I shiver under his touch. I use my hands to lift my hair so he can close the clasp. I don't know if its my imagination, but he might have lingered his hands on the back of my neck a little longer then necessary.

I turn towards him, still blushing.

'Thank you so much Zero, I'll cherish it.'

He looks at me without saying anything for about a minute, when I'm about to talk he says,

'Do you want to go somewhere tomorrow?'

My mouth slowly hangs open, thoughts have momentarily stopped forming in my head. Was he asking if I wanted to go out? As in a date? He looks down, his face showing embarrassment in every aspect.

'I mean, it _is _your birthday, it'll be a waste to just go with the chairman.'

My mouth shuts. Oh. So its not a date, just an outing. Don't cry Yuki, don't you dare cry. I smile at him. My heart hurts. I literally feel it squeeze beneath my left breast.

'Yeah sure, I'd love to.'

He nods, I want him to smile.

'You know another gift I want from you,' I look at him, not averting his eyes from mine. He looks at me confused. I don't care anymore. Maybe it was in the shadow of darkness that gave me some kind of new found confidence. I raise my right hand and bring it to his face, I rest my palm against his cheek and use my thumb to trace his lips. He's frozen under my touch. His lips are soft, and a little warm. He closes his eyes and he parts his lips slightly under my touch. He lets out a stuttering breath, like a broken sigh, and it washes over my hand, making me shiver.

'Will you smile?' I whispers, my eyes on his mouth. He opens his eyes slowly, as if I pulled him from a distant thought. His eyes are glazed and there's a starnge glint in them that I rarely see, but makes me shiver every time. I look at them, he's so beautiful, I think to myself, 'Will you smile for me today?'

He looks at me. He hesitates then nods his head. I smile. He smiles back. I get up and extend my hand to him. He grabs it and, without pulling on it, gets up. He walk to the window and puts his leg through, I follow him to the window. He gets his whole body out and I put my hands on the windowpane.

'You could have went through the door.'

He rolls his eyes at me, then smiles, turning away he says, 'Good night Yuki.'

'Good night Zero,' I say, before he jumps for the tree and climbs down, disappearing from my sight.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**- An Elaborate Change

I wake up 7 hours later with the sun shining on my face. I groan when I get up even though I know nobodies listening to me complain. I suddenly remember the events of last night and grin stupidly to myself. I go to the bathroom and wash up. I put on a sweater over my dress, too lazy to change and head over to the chairman's for breakfast. I find Zero there, not exactly eating, but sitting on the dining table. Just looking at him is worth my existance now, I think to myself, and smile to myself again. My jaw feels like clay and it's hard to keep a straight face so I let the smile stay. Chairman is in the kitchen, when I yell a Hello to him, he comes and gives me a hug and a kiss.

'Happy birthday my beautiful daughter.'

I smile at him, 'thank you father.' He glows at me, then suddenly turns his head to Zero.

'Zero, you too,' he says looking at Zero, faking a pout. Zero smiles at me,

'Happy birthday.'

The chairman and me have the same reaction, even though that's so wrong. Both our mouths drop and our eyes bulge. We blush for the rare sight of Zero smiling. The chairman cough and I smile back as calmly as I can, as the thundering of my heart continues in my chest. I go and sit on the table. A batch of pancakes are waiting for me and I start eating.

'So, where are we going today?' I ask. I look at Zero with the fork in my mouth.

'We're going to let you decide,' he says looking down at his batch of untouched pancakes, acting alien to the situation when he was the one who had come in the middle of the night and told me.

Putting my figer to my chin, I think about where I want to go.

'I guess we could go wander around town until we find something to do.'

I just wanted Zero to be there, I didn't care what else happened or where we went. The chairman looks at Zero as a way to confirm the idea. Zero shrugs. I relax, glad that he was going along with my plan.

'Well we'll leave at lunch time so that we can eat at town,' says the chairman while taking off his apron. I finish what's left of my breakfast and go back to my dorm. Zero already left so I had no reason to stay any longer. I go to the bathroom and take a shower. When I'm done I go to my room and, as soon as I step in, my cell phone rings. I pick it up, the caller ID reads 'Yori'. Instantly my spirits lift. I pick up on the second ring.

'Hello,' I say, a smile evident on my face.

'Hi Yuki, it's Yori, i called to say happy birthday,' she says softly over the phone. My heart instantly yearns for my room mate and best friend.

'Thanks Yori, where are you? I've been waiting for you forever here.'

'I'm coming home tomorrow.'

I yelp, 'Really?' I ask.

'Yeah, I convinced my parents to let me off early cause I have school. It was hard though.'

'I'm so glad, I have so much to tell you.'

'What is it?' she asks, curious and a little teasing.

'Um I want to tell you face-to-face, plus I want to see your reaction.'

She sighs, 'fine.'

We talk for a while and before I know it's almost 12 o'clock. Yori's about to close the phone because her mom's calling her. As a reaction I ask her,

'Yori, what would you wear if you were going on a date?'

I instantly blush. Why did I still think this was a date? He had clearly indicated that it wasn't. Yori's quiet on the other line. I start to think that she's closed the phone when she suddenly says,

'Yuki, what are you hiding from me?'

I groan inwardly, I shouldn't have asked.

'It's an innocent question, I'm not hiding anything that I'm not going to tell you when you come back.'

She sigh on the line again, 'Give the phone to Mitsuki.'

Mitsuki was at the room next door. She was the one who had lent me her bikini when we went to Zero's villa (**A/N; see chapter 2 :)**). Yori and I hang out with her sometimes. She had a major crush on Shiki. She was usually keeping Yori company when I was doing guardian duty.

'Why do you want to talk to her,' I ask, not rudely, just curious.

'Just give it to her,' she says.

I leave the room and go to Mitsuki's. She opens the door when I tell her it's me. She's a pretty girl with large hazel eyes and dirty blond hair. Her mom's European, explaining her foreign appearance. I hand her the phone, she looks at me confused. I tell her its Yori, she instantly lights up. She puts the phone to her mouth and screams when Yori starts speaking. They're really good friends. A prick of jealousy enters my heart which I dismiss since I know that Yori is also my best friend and that fact won't change. I try to listen to their conversation, but its hard since Yori seems to be the one doing the talking on the other end. I get startled looks and grins from Mitsuki. I grimace at her, I don't know what they're planning and I feel uncertain and worried. Finally she says her goodbyes to Yori and hands back my phone. I put it to my ear.

'Yori?' I ask questioningly.

'Yuki, I want you to listen and do exactly as Mitsuki says. Trust her with your life.'

I don't have a good feeling about this but I promise her I will nonetheless, not wanting to get on her bad side when she already sounded so frustrated. I give Mitsuki a wary look which she returns with a smile. Yori tells me happy birthday the last time before hanging up. Once I close the phone I look up at Mitsuki. She's giving me mischievous smile. She takes a step towards me and pulls me into her room. Her roommates gone for the day, she tells me. She put me on a small chair in front of her dressing table and motions for me to sit there.

'So you got a date?' she asks while rumaging through her drawer.

'N- no I don't, did Yori say that?' I ask, stammering.

She smiles, 'Relax, I'm not going to bother you with questions your not even going to answer, lets just get you ready.'

She pulls out all sorts of equipment from her drawer and from her purse. Their all makeup and I have to swallow the bile rising in my throat to keep from refusing her. She pulls my hair, which had already dried from this morning, into a tight bun and puts a hair band on my head to keep my hair in place. She tells me to close my eyes and not open them until she tells me to. As she applies makeup to my face I slightly relax into my position, and I wouldhave fallen asleep if Mitsuki didn't ask me the occasional question to keep me from unconsciousness. When she's done, I'm about to look at myself, but she stands between me and the mirror.

'Not yet honey, I still have to do your hair and dress you,' she tells me nonchalantly. I pout, but agree to her request. She hands clothes from her closet, though I protested on this.

'What's wrong with my clothes,' I ask, not wanting to inconvenience her.

'Not slutty enough,' she says cooly, handing me a pile to wear. I blush and she grins at me. She leaves the room to give me privacy while I change, she had already warned me not to look in the mirror and I don't. She's given me a navy-blue, plaited mini-skirt and a white tank-top. On top of that long black cardigan, it falls to the hem of my skirt. When I tell her I'm done she comes inside and gives me a long look. I feel nervous under her scrutiny and move from foot to foot uncomfortable. She finally looks at my face, nodding in approval. I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding. She comes over to me.

'Now, what do I do with your hair?' she asks, rhetorically.

I didnt think she could do much with it, my hair was short and I usually left it open. It was convenient when I had to cover my face. She seems to ponder on them, lifting my hair up at different sides. Finally her face lifts and she tells me to sit on her bed. I sit on it as she goes through her drawers looking for something. I look at the clock hanging abover her bed, I have 15 minutes left. My palms suddenly start getting sweaty and butterflies flutter in my stomach, but just thinking that in 15 minutes I was going to see Zero instantly calmed me down. Mitsuki finally walks back to me with strips of wire in her hand. I raise my eyebrow at her but don't say anything. She divides my hair into 4 parts and braides each part lightly. at the end of each braid, she used the wire as a hairband.

'It's a trick I learned from my friend. Using hairbands makes waves look weird.'

I nodded, pretending I knew what she was talking about. When she was done braiding, she used her hairspray and sprayed my head, telling me to close my eyes before she did. After a few minutes, she pulled out the wires and let my hair fall, running her hands through them.

'Perfect,' she says, standing from her bed, 'Now you can look,' she says, placing her hairspray on her dressing table. I give her a wary look and walk to the mirror. I look at the mirror and do a double-take, I don't recognize myself. The outfit, though revealing doesn't make me look slutty, but rather sofisticated and at the same time wild. My makeup makes me look older then I am, sharp and mischivous. The waves are soft and bring a soft and feminine look to my face.

'Mitsuki,' I say, breathless, looking at her. I find her smiling at me, 'what have you done to me?'

She laughs, 'My best creation.'

I laugh at her joke, a little breathless. She rumages in her drawer for the hundreath time and takes out two similar black bud earings and a large opal ring. As i wear them, she hands me a long pearl neckless, I blush and look down, staring intently at my ring.

'I actually, uh, already have a necklace to wear,' I say. I curse myself for sounding so choked up. She smiles and shrugs. As I'm about to leave the room she calls me back.

'One last thing Yuki,' I turn just in time to see her holding out a pair of cheetah Ankle- boots with a 3-inch heel. They weren't so high that I could embarrass myself when walking, but not something I wore everyday. I'm about to object, but she glares at me and I immediately shut my mouth. I take her heels and put them on. I try walking around in them and, surprisingly, I dont fall.

'You have the most sexiest legs Yuki,' Mitsuki said as I demonstrated a walk. I blush at her compliment.

'Mitsuki, you're the only person who has ever said that to me,' I tell her curtly. I knew it wasn't true but the look Mitsuki fixed me with made me hope for a second. I hope Zero thinks the same and I blush at the thought. Butterflies started forming in my stomach and I almost asked Mitsuki if I could change. I didn't want to go anymore, but I knew that was impossible, every fibre in my body was raging to see him.

'And makeup suits you as well,' she says, bringing me out of my reverie. I look at the mirror again. My eyes, which were large and round looked slightly smaller and slanted, making me look attractive, since she had emphasized on my eyes, she had put nude lipstick on my lips, giving me a nocturnal look.

'You know you could fit right in with the night class looking like that,' she says to me.

'You need to stop, I don't look any different then I usually do, but I agree your skill are beyond excellent.'

Mitsuki pats herself on the back, I laugh and she shoos me out of the room.

'Wouldn't want to keep your date waiting,' she says, winking at me before she closes the door. I sigh, not arguing back, I liked how it sounded to my ears anyway. I walk to my room and get my bag and hang it over my shoulder. Stopping before the mirror I put on the necklace Zero gave me last night which I had put in my jewellery box before I went to sleep. Finally I walk out the room and head for the chairman's resident where we were meeting. Butterflies threatening to burst from within me.

* * *

**HIIIIIIIIII so like its me the magnificent one *dodges tomatoes****.**

**I know this chapter didnt really go anywhere, but I promise it's gonna get better (*cliffhanger Mua ha ha)**

**plz plz plz review. I wanna know what you guys think X) and thanks to those who already did, you seriously motivated me 3**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**- An Alluring Gentleness

I leave the dorm and head for the chairman's office, where we had decided to meet. As I rounf the corner, I see Zero leaning on the door of the building. He's looking down, so I get a good look at him before he sees me. He's wearing a green, blue and brown plaid shirt with black pants, looking casual and cool. I start thinking that I should go back and change to something simple when he turns and looks at me, he does a double-take, I force back a smile, looking down to hide the upturns of my lips and my heated face. I know that what I usually wear doesn't reveal much of my body and makes me look like a pre-schooler, but I know I look attractive and mature in what Mitsuki put on me. This thought gives me confidence and I smile at Zero as i reach his side.

'Hiya,' I say flirtatiously. What was that? Did I just flirt with him. His eyes widen slightly and I hear him audibly gulp.

'Y-Yuki you-'

'Yuki,' I hear the chairman call, I roll my eyes mentally and turn to look at him, perfect timing dad, I think. He's running towards me and takes a deep breath before talking. I still feel Zeros eyes still on me. When I look at him, he looks away a slight tint of color on his cheeks.

'I'm sorry Yuki, something came up,' the chairman wheezes, 'there's seems to be some problems with a day class student and their parents want to see me today, it's the only time they could meet me and I had no choice but to agree. But I'll prepare a big fat cake for you when you come back,' he looks at me expectantly. It hurts a little that he would be busy on my birthday, but I can't help the selfish feelings over-ride this notion. I'll be able to be alone with Zero. I smile at him.

'It's alright father, I understand. Ill be waiting for the cake though, it better be chocolate,' I say to him. He smiles and hugs me, I let him since he seems depressed.

After saying our good byes the chairman gives me his credit card, saying I could get all I wanted. I try and give it back but he runs away inside.

We start to walk down the pathway from the academy to town. I suddenly realize I have to walk with Zero through the woods with heels on for 10 minutes. Ugh, I was already having trouble walking in these heels, though I tried hard not to show it. We walked in silence half the way, I was careful not to trip. I didn't want to break the hells of these shoes, since they weren't mine. After a while I asked Zero to take a break, we make our way to a large fallen tree and sit on the trunk. I took off the shoes, there were already hurting my feet, soon blisters would form. Great. I take out a bandage from my purse and stick it against the areas that contacted the most friction against the shoes.

'Are you okay?' he asks, though he tries to hide it, I hear the concern heavy in his voice.

I nod, 'Yeah, it's just new to me,' I say, pointing at the shoes. He nods, frowning.

I frown at him and snap my fingers to his face. 'What did I say yesterday?' I ask him sternly. He looks confused, I sigh, 'Your supposed to smile today, now smile for me.' I give him a big smile with all my teeth and he lets out a chuckle.

'Yeah, how could I forget,' he says sarcastically.

I blush as I remember what exactly I had done when I asked him. I look away and suddenly notice the closeness of his body against mine. I could feel his leg against mine. If I moved, our hips would join. I started to perspire. Weird, since it wasn't exactly a hot day. We sit there for a few minutes, it feels like hours with my heart pounding and my stomach churning. Zero gets up and extends his hand to me, I smile up at him and take it, getting up. He lets go of my hand when I've gotten up. I can physically feel the loss of the contact, his touch leaving tingles in my hand. I want to hold his hand. But that was asking for too much, so I let my arms rest numbly at my side. We talk a little about what to do while in town, since I don't know, and can't concentrate with him so close, we just keep walking in serene silence. When we get there I tell him that we should eat first since I'm hungry. He leads me to a nice restaurant. We go inside getting a table for two. Our seats are beside the window, we sit across each other and order the lunch special. There aren't many people here so our silence seems even more defined. I lay back on my chair and stare at Zero sitting across me. This feels like a date, I think to myself while blushing and suddenly felt giddy, at the same time I realize that that could never be true. With my giddiness gone I look at Zero, he's looking out the window of the restaurant. I haven't seen him for a while so I just soak it up, locking it up in memory.

'Take a picture,' he says, 'it'll last longer.'

I blush, 'I wasn't staring,' I say, lying through my teeth.

He chuckles, 'Whatever you say.'

I look down, I couldn't risk another embarrassing moment like that again. I turn to him and try to start a conversation, but before I can, the waiter comes and sets our lunch in front of us. I almost drool at the food laid before me. I notice that the waiters not leaving, I look at him, he's looking at me and smiling. He's a good looking guy, maybe a few years older than me with wavy brown hair, a straight nose, a nice mouth and hazel eyes with eyelashes a girl would die for. I stare at him as he does the same to me. I smile and his smile widens, he looks at Zero

'You have a really pretty girlfriend,' he says. Zero doesn't turn to look at him. I see his hands clench and his jaw tighten. But I could have been imagining it.

'Wait- He's not, I mean- I'm not his girlfriend,' I stammer to the waiter.

His smiles widens, if that was possible, 'Oh yeah, then maybe you wouldn't mind giving me your number?'

I look at Zero as a habit of mine. I always seem to do that when I'm nervous, but I know this isn't a Level E or any other kind of vampire so he has no reason to protect me. I notice Zero's eyes turn hard. I wanted to tell him that I wasn't interested in that guy, I wanted to show him that there was no way I would ever be interested in anyone but him.

'I'm sorry, I can't,' I say, looking at the waiter and giving him an apologetic look. He frowns.

'Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?' he asks. Looking at Zero.

'No, that's not it,' I say, looking down, faking a blush, which wasn't really hard seeing as my face was already heated, and smiling lightly, acting shy and embarrassed, 'the thing is, I'm not attracted to men.'

The waiter gives me an odd look. Zero finally turns to look at me, his eyes confused, wondering where I was going with this. After a few seconds of silence I finally break it to him,

'I'm gay.'

I hear a burst of laughter come from Zero, we both turn to look at him. He tries to cover it up by coughing and taking a drink of water. It takes everything I have not to burst out let alone smile when the waiter looks back at me.

'Um, sorry about that,' he says. Scratching the back of his head before walking away, looking confused. I watch him leave, when I look back Zero's head lies on the table. I reach out and touch his head, he's shaking.

'Zero?' I ask, starting to panic.

He looks up with a straight face, and resumes his posture on the chair. He finally turns to me and after seeing my bewildered expression, he suddenly starts laughing. I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but my heart completely melted. After a few minutes he laughter receeds.

'What was so funny?' I ask. I knew that was funny but I didn't know it would make him laugh that much.

'No, I was more relieved,' he says, looking at his food.

I was about to inquire into what he meant when he says,

'You know your gay if you're a guy right, your lesbian if you're a girl,' he says his eyes twikling.

I blush, 'Stop being such a smart alec,' I say, feeling light and giddy because I had made him laugh. He shrugs and points at my food.

'Eat.'

We walked around the rest of the day. I didn't really notice where we went, because every time I turned to Zero he would smile at me and all my senses would cloud. His mood had been considerably lifted. We went to the aquarium and looked at the animals. We then went to the park and had ice cream, we sat on a boat that took us on a spin around town. Towards the end of the evening, I noticed that people- when I say people I mostly mean guys- were staring at me a lot. I felt self conscious. Zero had walked a step or two ahead of me, I was about to catch up when someone took a hold of my wrist, I turn and see a two guys smirking at me.

'Hey baby, you alone?' they ask.

I try to twist my hand from theirs. Was fate testing me, i had never had this much attention from guys before. Why now? they hold tighter and I turn to call for Zero but I don't see him.

'Zero,' I call, my voice cracking.

'Who you calling? You wanna ditch 'em and come hang with us.'

I turn and shake my head at them, 'Please let me go, I have to go.'

'Aw, don't be like that,' one of them say, pulling my hand, 'you look lonely, how about we make you feel better.'

Before they can pull me, another hand rests on his, I look up and see Zero. His eyes blaze a striking shade of amethyst as well as black and red, and they're force is directed to the two guys. They look nervous and the guy lets go of my hand.

'Hey man,' one of them say, with both his arms raised as if in surrender, 'I thought she was alone.'

'Well she's not,' Zero takes my hand and pulls me away from them. His hold on my hand hurts and I tell him so. He loosens his grip but doesn't let go. I look down at our intertwined hands, he still doesn't let me go.

'That might happen again, I'm not letting you go now,' he tells me with his back to me. My heart thumps and my throat clogs. I can't help but imply those words to a billion other meanings.

We walk to a restaurant on a deserted street. We're quiet except for the occasional gestures and random topics. We sit in a secluded area and order our food. There is a hint of awkwardness but that could be easily mistaken by nerves. I constantly meet his eyes throughout dinner. I quickly avert them, feeling my heart thump. He's quiet but he would smile at times when I made a joke or a comment.

We leave the restaurant and as we start walking home after we're done. My hands feel numb and uncomfortable, I'm walking behind Zero and reach for his hand but stop myself. He would probably feel uncomfortable if I did that. Suddenly, I feel Zero gently takes my hand and hold them in his. My heart breaks at the gentleness with which he holds them, as if i could crack. My nerves are raging and my heart is thumping, I feel tense and slowly and gently I relax and come closer to his side, a small smile lighting my face. I try to capture this moment and put it in a jar. I feel so happy I'm afraid I might explode. We walk through the night, the street lamps and lights from houses lighting the town. When we get to the forest the moon and the stars are the only illuminations. As we walk all I feel is Zero's hand in mine, everything else, all my other senses are closed. We don't talk but the thumping of my heart seems to scream in my ear. Suddenly Zero turns to me.

'We should rest for a bit,' he says.

'Yeah,' I reply. We find a trunk and sit on it. He still holds onto my hand and there is little I can do without it. I just sit there and listen to his breathing and feel the warmth of his hands in mine. Before I can even think about what I'm doing, my head inclines and rests on his shoulder and I lean against him. He stiffens, I know I'm intruding on his personal space but I don't care if he pushes me away, these few seconds of contact are enough for me. He doesn't push me away, instead relaxes a bit. I take this time to take pleasure in the fact that I acually fit quite snuggly against him. It felt like a cacoon. We sit like that for a while, when I finally move away.

'We needed to get going,' I whisper to him. I feel more then see him nod. As we stand, I feel his eyes on me and I look at him. The moon is bright enough to display both of us when we're not hidden in shadows. He looks at my neck. Does he need blood?

'You wore it,' he whispers, his voice being carried through the wind. I look surprised and Zero hand comes up and rests on the pendent that lies atop the curve between my breast. I know he can feel my heart beating irregularly, his eyes meet mine. My breath comes out shaky. He traces the curve of my pendent, coming into contact with my skin and leaves burning trails. His eyes still on mine and I close them as I feel his hands slide along the necklace and comes to rest on the side of my neck. I remember when he had taken blood from me that night, how I had almost moaned with the pleasure of his lips on my neck and the sensation of him sucking my blood.

I bring my hand up and rest it on his, I open my eyes and we look at each other. He looks so beautiful. There is a vulnerability in his face that melts my heart. His leans towards me, I don't move. Is he going to kiss me? My mind blanks and I can't move. I close my eyes when I feel his breath on my face. He's so close. I can't control my body. I don't know what to do.

Suddenly, he jerks his face towards the side. I look the same direction. We both hear the snap of a twig at the same time. I start to think that maybe I've improved in my reflexes when it comes to danger since I noticed the sound at the same time as Zero did. Usually Zero senses danger before anyone else can even think about it. Then I understand that I wasn't getting better, at that moment Zero was so distracted that he hadn't noticed. I blushed when I thought of that distraction. Suddenly I hear it again. Zero stands up straight and moves his hands from my neck down to my arm. He pulls me behind him. I hear a sigh in the wind.

'Oh my, what a nice smell.'

I freeze. I see a figure emerge from between the trees. Zero moves to stand in front of me and reaches for the gun inside his jacket. The figure crouches and I gasp when I see the moonlight fall on it. It was a level E vampire. Its face was that of a monster, with fangs protruding from its mouth, all of them as sharp as knives. Its eyes were wild with the color of blood and its face was contorted with insanity. Zero reaches and takes hold of my hand, tightening his grip when I break into a fit of shivers. I reached my other hand up and clutched the back of his jacket as that night from 10 years ago invaded every inch of my mind. The fangs that were bared at me, not an inch from my neck. I had been so afraid. Zero knew how scared I was and took a step towards me. The vampire suddenly leaps at us, before Zero can get his gun out the vampire is before us. I can feel the shock in Zero's body as the vampire pushes him away, and before I can even breath his name, the breath is knocked out of me as I'm slammed into a tree. I close my eyes to the pain and tears come to my eyes, it takes a few seconds to catch my breath. I feel a tight grip take hold of my neck, I look up to see the color of blood in the vampires eyes. He grins at me, licking his lips. He takes my neck and slams me to the tree again, only this time with so much force that I cry out when my head slams against the bark. My breath is coming out in gasps, I might be hyperventilating. His grin widens. He brings his face closer to mine, moving his hand that was on my neck to my shoulder, imprisoning me. I shut my eyes as he manoeuvres his face to my neck. I whimper and tears fall out of my eyes.

'S-s-st-stop,' I gasp out between breaths.

'But you smell so good,' he says, and I feel the sharp needles of his teeth on my neck. I close my eyes tight. Suddenly I hear a loud bang of a gunshot and I feel the vampire fall limp against me, but it's gone in a second as Zero lifts him away and the vampire turns to ash and dust. I try to calm my breathing down and suddenly my legs give way and I slide down the length of the tree. Before I hit the ground, warm and strong arms enfold around me and I feel Zero hold me against his chest as I gasp and cry.

'Shh, its okay Yuki. He's gone Yuki. Its okay,' he tells me soothingly. I cling to him and listen to the steady beating of his heart, as my breath slows and finally all I'm doing is crying. I feel him hold me tight and whisper to me in a soothing voice that it was over and everything was alright now, until I stop crying completely and even after that. I lie against his chest, I might have fallen asleep but I don't know. I finally feel him move away and I pull back. I feel his eyes on me but I don't look up.

'I'm sorry Zero,' I whisper, my eyes still downcast, 'I was so scared.'

I can feel the tears coming again, but I hold them back. I see Zero reach up and smooth my hair. I smile and look up to let him know I'm okay. He leans forward and kisses my forehead so gently I almost cry. His gentleness brings tears at me, considering what just happened I appreciate it all the more.

We both get up and start walking. His hands hold mine.

'Thank you for saving my life Zero,' I say in a whisper. He turns his head and half-smiles at me.

We're quiet until we reach home. Zero turns to me.

'Why don't you clean up,' he tell me in a soft voice, 'we'll go to the chairman then.'

I suddenly feel a panic attack coming. Yori wasn't in the room and there was still a fair distance to walk to get to my dorms. As I debate what to do in my head, Zero looks at me with a concerned expression.

'Yuki?' he wonders outloud.

I look at him, 'I'm scared,' I whisper as if someone was there waiting to pounce on us. He nods at me and with my hand still in his, takes me to my dorm. I come to my room and invite him inside. I take another set of clothes and go to the bathroom. I look at the mirror, my eyes are puffy and my mascara is smudged around my eyes from crying, there is dirt on my face and hair and theres some dried blood on my neck from the place where the vampire had almost bitten me. Basically I look like I belong in an asylum. I sigh, I can't believe Zero saw me like this. I quickly take a shower and change into a plain blue dress with a white chunky belt. I apply some mascara and eyeliner and lipgloss before coming out again. I see Zero sitting on my bed reading the Rumi poetry Yori had lent me. Oh no. I became obsessed with it since she first recited some of the lines for me, but I hardly ever read the book. As my feelings for Zero grew I read the book more and more. When I saw him reading it, I became paranoid. Did he know I read it with the thought of him in my mind? He had always seen right through me so I wouldn't be surprised.

I suddenly noticed that he had different clothes on.

'You changed,' I stated. He looks up and for a few seconds just stares at me. I wonder if there's something weird on my face. I didn't think he heard what I said, but the next second he answers,

'Uhh, yeah I did.'

I smile at him, 'should we go?'


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**- A Confession

The chairman had prepared a chocolate cake for me, Kaname was there as well. After we had cut the cake the chairman and Kaname handed me my presents. The chairman had given me a huge teddy bear with a large bow on it, it holding a photo-frame on its lap, with a picture of all three of us; Zero, the chairman, and I. I stand in the middle smiling to the camera with the chairman hugging me with his left hand, while his right stretches behind me and holds Zero by his shirt collar, pulling him into the picture. The Zero in the picture has a slight frown on his face, but his eyes are on me. I smile and blush, my eyes still on the picture. I thank the chairman and give him a hug. Kaname gave me a dozen roses -which I thought was too romantic- and a musical jewellery box which would play Beethoven's 'Fur Elise' when I would open the lid. I hugged and thanked him as well acting casual. Again, I noticed he was waiting for my usual reaction, but it didn't come. I would never have been able to do that if I was still the Yuki I had been before my feelings for Zero. I didn't flush madly nor did my heart pump itself dry, instead I treated him as a friend, which was, in a way, better since I would never in my wildest dreams be with someone like him.

But I started to wonder, wasn't it the same with Zero as well? I quickly look around for Zero as the chairman tells Kaname that his teddy bear present is much better. He was standing behind me, leaning against the wall. I look at him and it takes a while to look away again, not until I see the usual look of concern pass his face. My face must have been a mixture of emotions. I didn't want to lose him. I wanted to be with him forever. I feel like crying and my throat clogs, I start fiddling with the teddy bear and after a while I tell the chairman that I have to go to bed since its late. After I thanked everyone and pick up my stuff, I leave. As soon as I'm out of sight of the building my tears burst. I didn't want to be without him, yet when I remember that he is a vampire and would never want to be with someone like me, my heart hurts and convulses so much I wanted to drown. I felt as if everybody was walking, walking away from me and instead of following, I was running in the opposite direction. My heart yearned for him, and I knew he wouldn't think of me that way. But even if he did, what were we to do? If he ever fell to level E what would happen then? Would I lose him? I'm suddenly numb and feel a panic attack coming. I close my eyes and start taking deep gulps of air, willing myself to calm down. I didn't want to be in the darkness of my room, I look down at my presents and feel somewhat better that there are still people here for me. I carry my stuff to my room and change before going to bed and falling into a dreamless sleep.

The next day Yori came back. I couldn't stop smiling, even when I didn't want to. She got settled in and took a shower before we both sat down on our beds and started talked.

'Yori, I know you have jetlag, why don't you sleep and we'll talk tomorrow,' I told her sympathetically.

'Yuki, you think I'll never be able to sleep when my best friend's gotten herself knocked-up,' she says in a frantic voice. I could tell by the way her eyes were wide and her hands moved that she was excited to hear about what I had to say.

I blushed beet red, 'What the hell, I didn't get knocked up Yori.'

'Your so boring Yuki,' she says rolling her eyes at me with a slight smile.

I look down at my hands, 'He doesn't even like me,' I mumble almost to myself, tears from last night springing to my eyes again. But unlike last night I wasn't alone, I was with Yori and I didn't want to worry her. But she had already sensed something wrong with me.

'Why not?' she asked.

'What?' I asked looking back up at her.

'Why wouldn't he like you?' she asked, her eyes incredulous.

'Because Yori,' I said frustrated at what I was about to tell her, 'I'm so boring and he might show me that he cares sometimes but that can also be mistaken for how he would treat his sister or it might be the impulses of a teenage boy, but I know he doesn't like me. I have no sex appeal and I'm not smart. I'm always causing him trouble and I'm always annoying him.'

I lay down on my back and raised my hands to cover my face. I was frustrated and the sadness from last night was coming back in full swing.

'But Yori, I don't think I can leave him, I love him so much that it hurts,' my eyes are shut and my arms are covering my face, I talk more easily since all I see is black, 'He's so beautiful and caring and loyal and sensitive and he doesn't show any emotion but I know there's a whirlwind of them inside him. He doesn't care about me, but sometimes he'll touch me or talk to me or look at me and I'll think that I want to live for this man.' the tears start to overflow, cascading down the sides of my face towards my hair. 'Its so frustrating, I haven't slept well in the past month and I can't stop thinking about him. My heart is overflowing and I yearn for his touch every moment of my life. Just a glimpse of him is enough for me… its enough.' I feel Yori sit beside me on the bed, 'But then I become so selfish and I want more of him. I want to belong to him. I want him to belong to me. I want to be the only one in his eyes, I want him to hold me forever and never let me go. I want him to hold only me, to touch only me, to love only me.'

Both me and Yori stay quiet, after wiping my tears I move my hands from my face, Yori's watching me and I get up into a sitting position. I let out a nervous laugh.

'Oh God, look at me complaining,' I play with my hair, but then my smile falls, remembering what I just told her, 'I'm so selfish Yori.'

I look at her. There are tears in her eyes. Surprised, I look at her, not moving. Some of her tears fall and she leans to me and hugs me to her chest.

'No Yuki, you deserve to be selfish. For once in your life you can be as selfish as you want. I'm here for you.'

With the warmth and love radiating from her, I hold her and cry.

When we both calm down, I get a movie and ask the chairman if we can order pizza. He agrees and we sit and laugh while watching the movie, I feel light and fuzzy and a bit exhausted after crying and letting it out. I can feel our loyalty and friendship with each other strengthening every passing moment. I couldn't ask for a better friend. She tells me about her trip. She tells me about her fiancé, he's mature, rich, and very thoughtful. They would hang-out from time to time. They also kissed. I choke on my pizza.

'You kissed him,' I asked her when she thumped my back.

She shrugs, 'Yeah. He was going home after our fourth day together. I was outside my house, he had dropped me at home and walked me to the door, so I turned to say good bye and he sort of kissed me. He was really gentle.'

I smirk at her, 'Do you like him?'

She looked surprised, then she blushed, 'Um, well, I- I don't know.'

'I see,' I said, smiling and turning to the movie, which was almost over.

After that we changed and went to bed. As I lay there, I heard Yori call my name.

'Yeah, Yori,' I asked, turning to her.

'Do I get to hear who he is?'

'Who?' I asked confused.

She sighs, 'The guy you like, though I think I have a pretty good clue.'

I blush, I'm glad its dark, 'Oh do you? Who is it then?'

She hesitates for a second. 'Zero,' she says in a single breath.

I gasp audibly, she lets out a laugh.

'I'm right aren't I?'

'Yori, you cannot tell anyone, never.'

She sighs, 'Relax Yuki, I just think that you don't have to worry the way you are.'

'What do you mean?' I ask.

'Nothing,' she says, 'I, as you best friend, approve of your choice. I think Zero will make you really happy.'

I smiled in the dark, I knew sleep was about to claim her, 'Thanks Yori, I needed that. Goodnight.'

'Goodnight Yuki.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**- An Argument

The next morning, Yori and I get dressed for school and walk to the cafeteria for breakfast. We meet Zero at the door, Yori winked at me when Zero's back was to us. I sigh and rolled my eyes, acting annoyed but secretly hiding the raging emotions inside me. It somehow felt embarrassing to see him after yesterday, when I had cried for him. I tried hard to avert my eyes and not look at him. When Yori and me had gotten our food we sat down on our usual table. Zero only drank a bottle of water. I used to worry about his health but he told me that he takes blood tablets every morning. As we ate, Yori would cast glances from me to Zero and back again several times. I gave her a glare and she stopped with a smirk on her face. We stayed quiet throughout the meal. I could feel the cool metal of the necklace Zero gave me on my neck. I had shown Yori and she had screamed. She said it was beautiful and helped me clasped it. I blushed when I remembered how Zero had come to my room and had put the necklace on me. I felt a hand on my forehead, I looked up to see Zero watching me intently with his palms on my forehead.

'Are you sick?' he asked, his face rested on his other hand and his features were calm and neautral but I saw something flash in his eyes, something like worry and concern. I couldn't answer and Zero didn't move his hand, I stared at him (so much for self-control) and then suddenly felt a hard kick on my leg. Reality was brought back to me.

'Yeah I'm okay,' I said, 'I was just thinking.'

He sighed, 'Well stop thinking, you look scary when you do.'

He moved his hand away and I instantly missed the contact. I blushed even though I knew it was a joke. Yori suddenly got up.

'We'd better go, we don't want to be late for class.'

We threw our garbage away and placed the trays on the table at the far end of the cafeteria. As we got out the door and walking down the stairs, with Zero walking in front, I felt a push and yelped. I saw the stairs coming closer to me as I fell and closed my eyes ready for the contact and the pain. But the pain didn't come, instead I landing softly against someone. I let out a breath, and pulled up my head, opening my eyes I looked straight into Zero's. I realized he had grabbed me at the last second. He had landed with me on top and his face was an inch from mine, our nose almost touching. His hand was on my waist while the other supported us both. As he looked at me, his grip tightened and his eyes blazed, I shivered internally at the power they held. I think I imagined his lips moved closer to mine before I heard Yori exclaim from behind me.

'Oh my gosh Yuki, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking at where I was going and I just suddenly pushed you. I'm so sorry.'

I got up from our position, already the places where Zero had touched me felt cold and empty.

'It's okay Yori, I said, glaring at her, she had so done that on purpose. I looked back to Zero, 'Zero, are you okay?'

He looked at me, and raised his eyebrow at me, 'For someone so small, you sure are heavy.'

My cheeks flushed and my insides filled with rage.

'Well I'm sorry you had to save a cow like me, next time, don't bother,' I yelled.

He looked taken back for a second. I immediately regretted what I said. I knew he was only teasing but the frustrations I had been feeling for days now just came out.

'That's not what I-' Zero started before I cut him off by looking towards Yori,

'We'd better go.'

She nodded and gave Zero an apologetic look as he got up from the ground. We walked away from him. He grabbed my wrist, calling my name, my heart breaks, I pulled it away. I felt my heart stop as I felt his eyes on me until I was out of sight.

* * *

He was there in class for first period which was strange since he usually skipped to go to the stables where White Lily was. I felt his eyes on me the entire class. I didn't look at him. It's not because he had teased me, that was the least of my problems, it was the way I had reacted to the joke. I didn't want him to see me so confused and dismantled. I had to get a hold of myself. I had snapped over such a minor issue I didn't want that to happen again. And there was also the fact that I needed some distance from him if I ever wanted to get over him. Maybe this was a good opportunity. I sighed. He'll probably think I couldn't take a joke since he has no idea what's going on in my head right now.

During lunch I see him get up from the corner of my eye and my heart jumps. Mitsuki has come to sit Yori and I and is telling us about some new makeup brand, I get up and tell them I'm getting a drink. I wasn't, obviously, I couldn't eat with my stomach turning upside down every second. Yori gives me a look and I smiled to her before I left the class. I turned around when I was at the door to see him following me. I got out the door and started running. I turned the corner and kept running, he would probably look for me. Only for a while though, he'd give up soon enough, since it's only me.

I went outside, as far from the building as I could manage and sat down underneath a tree, watching a couple of boys from our class playing soccer. Groups of people pass me and I hear a number of different conversations exchanged. I close my eyes, I hadn't slept much last night and I felt tired. As I was about to doze off, someone yelled my name, I open my eyes to see a ball come towards me at, what I thought, the speed of light. I yelped, bring my arms up reflexively over my face, but I didn't feel anything hit me, I opened my eyes and saw Riku holding the ball in front of his face. He smiles widely at me.

'You should be more careful,' he says before throwing the ball back to the players.

'Thank you,' I said in a low voice.

Riku was a popular boy in our class, he was known as a player. He was taller then most boys in our class but still not as tall as Zero. He had a handsome face with deep brown eyes and soft waves of brown hair. I expected him to go continue the game he was playing before helping me, but he stood there, smiling at me. I smile back at him, it was contagious. I knew he had been playing on the field but I didn't understand why he was standing here.

'Your in the disciplinary committee aren't you?' he asked, his voice curious.

'Yeah,' I replied. I had this experience before, a number of girls and less then a handful of boys asking me to place cameras into the rooms of the night dorm or take pictures of the night class. I had refused of course. I was thinking he would ask me the same thing, but he didn't. He sat down beside me, he was sweating and he smelled of grass and sweat.

'Don't you find it annoying?' he asked instead.

I cocked my head to the side. 'What do you mean?'

'I mean protecting the student of the night class from everyone here. Doesn't it get frustrating.'

Okay. This was new. Most people thought I had the most awesome job in the world, being able to get close to the night class, I guess not. I look at the soccer field and he follows suit.

'Not really,' I said, 'I like to help out.'

He chuckled. 'Well I hope you know that if not the night class, I, in fact, appreciate your help.'

I smiled at him. He was a good guy, no wonder he had a lot of friends. 'I don't think Zero likes to help out though,' my heart jumped at the sound of his name and I quickly look at him. As if on queue, I see Zeros figure coming towards us from the other side of the field from the corner of my eye.

I quickly get to my feet, my eyes on Zero.

'Umm, I have something I have to do,' I say, finally looking at him, his eyes are filled to the brim with confusion. He probably didn't get many girls that said that to him, 'talk to you later then.'

I walk away and hear something incoherent from him. I make my way to the girls bathroom. At least I'll lose him there. Every minute that passes feels like an hour in the bathroom. When I think that breaks about over, I leave, and when I check the nearest clock, there's still a good 15 minutes left. I was walking back to my own building when I saw him again from the window. I moved to hide myself when he looks my way, I peeked to see him walk a few steps then turn then walk the other direction looking every which way. I didn't understand why he was trying so hard. Usually he didn't care what he said or what I did. I walked back to class when the bell rang. He came in a little late, panting and dishevelled. I try to avoid his eye. He came to my desk but I didn't look up. My heart thumps as he stands there looking.

'Yu-'

'Mister Kiryuu, will you please return to your seat, class is starting,' the teacher tells him. Zero hesitates for a second, but when I don't look up he leaves and goes to sit on his seat. Yori gives me a look but I try and ignore her. I don't want any kind of attention right now.

Riku, sitting a few desks away from me, turns around and looks at me when the teachers back is towards us. He smiles at me and I smile back, like I said, contagious. He moved his hand around, mouthing a sentence to me. I give him an incredulous look, how am I supposed to get a whole sentence he mouths. By now the whole class is looking at his flailing arms, so much for avoiding attention. I try to hold in my laugh when the teacher notices him. I signal for him to stop but he keeps going, thinking I understood what he said. The teacher makes his way to him, his eyes blazing and his mouth set in a straight line. He comes from behind Riku and hit's the back of Riku's head with his book. Riku yelps, sounding like a girl and the class erupts into laughter. I'm holding my stomach and my head is in my hands. I laugh so hard that tears come to my eyes and my stomach muscles contort tightly. The teacher tries to hold his laughter and gives him a hard look, letting him off with a warning. When I stop laughing I look at Yori, a smile on my face. She was laughing too and smiles at me. She leans towards me.

'Zero's smiling,' she says.

I jerk around instinctively and meet his eyes square on. The smile I love colors his face and his eyes are soft. My heart breaks and I turn around. Zero has never smiled or laughed at a joke made in class, so why was he smiling now?

As if to answer my question Yori leans in again and whispers in my ear.

'He smiled when he saw you laughing.'

I turn to her, 'You don't know that.'

She smirks at me, 'I saw it with my own eyes, he was glaring and seething at that Riku guy then when he saw you laugh he had this huge smile on his face,' she shrugs, 'I'm just telling you what I saw. And, by the way, since when have you been friends with the class player.'

'I met him just today actually, we talked a little during lunch,' I tell her shrugging and returning my attention to the teacher.

'I think he likes you,' she says looking at me, I avoid her eye, 'usually it's the girls who try to get his attention, I guess not,' she says, I see her smirking.

'Don't be ridiculous Yori, he's a player. They love all girls, he'll lose interest if I ignore him.'

She shrugs and we drop the subject. After school ends, Riku comes up to me when I have my books in my hand. I smile at him.

'What was all that about?' I ask, controlling my laughter when I remember what he had been doing. He rolls his eyes.

'I was illustrating the feather dance that male finches perform to win the heart of the female so they can mate and be merry.'

I had to hold onto something to keep from falling over. I leaned against my desk and covered my face as I laughed. I just imagined his face on the body of a bird and I just couldn't hold it in. He smiled at me, as if proud that he had made me laugh. Half my vision is obscured with a shadow and I look up to find Zero staring at me. My heart thumps and my laughing slows.

'Yuki, can I talk to you?' he says to me, his eyes hard. My stomach instantly drops and I move uncomfortably under his scrutiny.

'Um, I wanted to talk to the teacher about the test next week, so I'm going to go and see him. We can talk after disciplinary duties.'

I turn away before he can say anything else and get out of the classroom. If I talk to him now it'll just be awkward. I already avoided him talking to me over such a worthless issue, how do I explain why I've been acting the way I have. I turn the corner and go to the girls bathroom, I'll hide until the night class come out.

I stayed there for less then 10 minutes then I got out and went to the vending machine to get a drink.

Finally, I went outside to perform my duties, I didn't find Zero there. It wasn't a surprise and I was also glad that I wouldn't feel uncomfortable but a piece of my heart was still breaking. I ignore my confused emotions, sigh and perform my duties.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**- A fearless attraction

When the night class is in the building, the day class loses interest and leaves. I patrol the area for about an hour and take rounds of the building. When I'm done, the sun has set and the crescent moon that hangs in the sky as if on threads, barely illuminates my path. I walk back to my dorm. Yori is there and we make our way to the cafeteria to eat dinner. When we finish we return to our dorm and I try to do my homework with Yori's help. She strives to help me understand the concepts and to help me finish, by the time I finish I'm falling asleep. I get my pyjamas and go to the chairman's quarters to take a shower, since Yori's taking a shower in our bathroom.

I go to the chairman's quarters with my clothes tucked in my arm. The lights are off meaning the chairman was probably out for the night. I go to the bathroom and take a shower, my eyelids are heavy and drop over my eyes, it becomes hard to stay up. I wash my hair and my body, when I'm done I turn the water off and wrap a towel around myself, getting out of the shower. Just as I get my feet out, I hear the door creak open. I snap my head to the door to find Zero standing there, his hand on the door knob. I freeze, my hair is wet and water drips from its ends, my body is almost naked and the only thing I have on is a thin towel. He has his shirt in his hands and I can see his naked chest. His eyes widen and travel over the length of my body. I feel the blood rush to my face as it heats up and I bring my hands up to the line of the towel on my chest. My heart is beating so fast I'm afraid it'll jump out.

His eyes return to mine. He looks away, blushing. I reach for my bundle of clothes and hold it over my chest.

'S-sorry,' I stammer, walking towards the door, towards him. 'I didn't know there was any-'

Zero stares into my eyes but I quickly look away. As I'm about to reach the door he shuts it behind him. My breathing is accelerating and my heart hammers against my ribcage. I hesitate but keep walking towards the door, his eyes on me and my eyes on the door. I try to keep my gaze hard but my insides are screaming to me. I reach my hand up to turn the handle, Zero's hand suddenly grabs mine and yanks it to him, causing me to drop my clothes and to turn my face to him. He then pins my left hand to the door behind me and places his other hand on the other side of my face, palms down on the door, trapping me. I press my back to the door as he brings his face close to mine. I turn my head away from the intensity of his gaze. He sighs.

'Yuki, what's wrong?'

I don't turn to him, 'What are you talking about? You should know.'

'I don't know,' he says, sounding exasperated.

'You made fun of-'

'Yuki, cut the crap, it's not the first time and the way you've been acting,' he sighs, 'I know something's wrong, can you just tell me.'

I don't say anything, biting my bottom lip. I know he hears the sound of my heart, my already heated blush covers my face. I start to shake, he's so close that if I move my mouth and inch forward, our lips would meet, I feel his piercing eyes scrutinize my face and it's taking everything I have to control myself. My mind is fogged and I can't think. I don't know what to say to him. His hands let go of mine, they stay where they are while his hands travel down my arm, over my naked shoulder, sending shivers through my body- his touch burning my skin- and rests it over my left breast. My face is still turned but my breath comes out in small gasps and I can't seem to help it. Does he understand what he's doing to me? I rest my head on the door, leaning my body against it so I don't fall. He eyes are still on my face, staring at me. He brings his head down and places it gently on my shoulder. My shoulders move up and down with my breathing and Zero's head follows the rhythm.

'You said you weren't scared of me,' he whispers.

I feel his hand over my heart. It skips a beat.

'You said you would never be scared of me.'

We both stay silent. I can't talk, that has nothing to do with it Zero, I wanted to say. You're the one who drive away my nightmares, I wasn't lying when I said I would never be afraid of you.

Everything I wanted to say, so clear in my head, yet I couldn't utter the words. My mouth was dry and it was impossible to move my throat. He pulls away, and turns without meeting my eyes.

'You'll get sick if you stay here, go back to your room,' his voice is hard. I knew that voice all too well, he used it to cover his emotions, when they were too over-whelming, he used this voice to keep in check. I grab my clothes and walk out of the bathroom leaving him inside.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**- a nostalgic sound

Zero didn't come to school the next day. Riku talked and joked with me during break but I didn't feel like laughing. Instead, I felt like crying the whole day, I had no appetite for food or anything else. My stomach felt hollow, my throat tight and my heart felt heavy and I just wanted the day to end. I wanted to see him, but what was I going to say. I love him but I can't be with him. These thought added to my depression and it took everything I had not to get up in the middle of class and leave. When school was over, I performed disciplinary duties, took a shower in my own bathroom this time, and went to bed.

The next day Zero came but I didn't see him until I came in late to class. I didn't talk to him and he didn't even so much as look at me. I knew it was bad, but it was better for him to be here then where I can't see him. Love makes you so selfish. I looked at him with every opportunity I would get. My eyes making up for what I had missed yesterday. He was the same as usual, but there was an atmosphere around him I couldn't place. Our eyes met once when I came in from lunch and he looked up, we stared for a good three seconds before we both turned away. My heart jumping and my face becoming red.

He helped for the first half of the disciplinary duties then left without a word. Kaname greeted me and I smiled at him, too busy with the girls to talk to him. When I was done I started patrolling the grounds. I quickly made sure there were no student outside then made my way to my dorm. Suddenly rain started to pour down on me, and I wasn't even halfway to my dorm. I made my way into the nearest school building. I opened the door, and the sound echoed inside. Everything was dark and quiet, I close the door behind me, the only sound I hear is the rain outside. I walked in and decided to stay here until the storm passed. It was the old night class building. It was supposed to be renovated to a new building but then they stopped midway, I didn't know why though. I walked through the building, the windows were large and so were the hallways. There were more rooms here then the school building. I didn't open any doors. It was dark enough and I didn't want to be scared. When I had taken a round of the first floor I came back to the main entrance. I saw a figure there and my heart jumped, it turned to me. It was Zero. I sighed but my heart still beat in that abnormal rhythm.

'Sorry, I'll leave,' he says in the darkness.

He turns and opens the door, the rain was still pouring and there was suddenly the sound of thunder.

'Don't leave,' I almost screamed, he turns to me, 'Don't leave,' I say again, looking down. I hear the door close and look up, expecting to find him gone. But he's there, with his back to me, his hands still on the knob, as if he would change his mind any second. I go to him, I wanted to see him, I wanted him to see me, I wanted him to smile at me, to laugh at me, to love me. Silent tears ran down my cheek. I was glad there was no lighting here. I was right behind him now, I leaned my forehead to his back, he stiffens under my touch.

'I'm sorry Zero,' I whisper, my voice breaking in the apology, 'I haven't been myself lately.' He turns to me after a few seconds I hear him sigh then he raises his hand and uses his thumb to wipe my tears. This makes me cry harder, all my frustration was coming out. I missed him so much that my feelings were overflowing.

'I'm not scared of you Zero,' I say as his fingers freeze on my face, 'I'll never be scared of you, I told you I wouldn't.'

He gently pulls me to him, wrapping his arms around me. I cry into his chest and wrap my arms around him. His strong body supports me as I lean into him. I feel the thudding of his heart. Its beating fast, yet it sound soothing to my ears. An almost nostalgic sound. He holds me until I stop crying, I pull away when my tears are spent and I start to feel tired. My tears have made an irregular circle stain on his jacket. I can't hear the sound of the storm outside anymore.

'I feel tired,' I say, not wanting to talk. He nods and turns. I miss the contact with him. We walk out the building and start walking to the girls dorm. Suddenly, I feel Zeros warm hand take hold of my cold ones. I don't say anything and neither does he. My stomach dips and starts to flutter. I don't want him to stop holding my hands, I would never have known how much warmth you can feel with just a small gesture if it wasn't for Zero. When we get to my dorm, I reluctantly let go of him hand.

'Thank you Zero,' I say, and as an after thought, say to him, 'I'll see you in school tomorrow.'

He smiles, and my stomach flutters even harder and my heart beats faster. He frowns a little, but I smile at him. His face relaxes, I give him a little wave and go inside. Yori's asleep, so I take a shower and go to bed, anticipating Zero's presence tomorrow.

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**Sorry, my chapters keep getting smaller and smaller for some reason -_-**

**REVIEW PLEASE! LOVE YOU GUYS FOR READING 3**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**- A Facade

We meet Zero in the cafeteria the next day. Him, Yori and I sit and eat breakfast together- well me and Yori anyway. Riku comes over to our table and places himself between me and Zero, I saw Zero's jaw clench but it could have been my imagination. I introduce Zero to him and vice versa, but Zero doesn't even so much as turn to him so Riku greets him awkwardly. He talks to me about random issues in his life, and makes me laugh. I felt better today since Zero was here so I laughed my heart out. I felt him send me quick glances. I would sometimes return them, but they did weird things to my heart so I tried to stop. We walked to class, Riku still talking animatedly to me, I tried to pay attention but I kept looking back at Yori and Zero, who looked a little left out. We got to class so Riku joined his friends saying he would come talk to me later. Yori gave me a look as we walk to our seat, Zero in tow.

'I don't get that guy Yuki,' Yori says.

I look at her, confused, 'What do you mean?'

'I mean he's a player, so why is he signalling you out of all the girls in class?'

I shrug, 'I don't know, I'm just a friend.'

She rolls her eyes at me, 'Whatever Yuki.'

We sit down and Zero goes to his own seat. I sleep through the first class, avoiding the suspicion of the teachers. The rest of the day passed as normally as it could, except for the fact that Zero was now the center of my life and he was all I ever thought of. Though I found it frustrating, I still couldn't help it. At lunch, me and Yori were eating and I turn and wave at Zero to come and join us, he turns and ignores me at first, but then I get up and pull him to our table, trying to act as normal as humanly possible after what had happened yesterday. As we sit, Riku comes over to our table, I hear Zero groan under his voice softly. He comes and sits at our table and starts talking, I start noticing that Yori and Zero feel awkward with him, well Zero I understand, but I didn't think Yori liked him very much. But Riku didn't really pay much attention to those two. I enjoyed his company but I missed mine, Yori's and Zeros subtle talks and comfortable silences. I knew there was something Riku wanted since he had never talked to me before. I was just waiting for him to say it. After about 20 minutes, he asks me if I can come with him to get a drink. I look at Yori and she nods her head, slightly annoyed, I look at Zero but his head is turn the other way. I get up and walk with Riku outside class.

He leads me to the vending machine and gets a Coke. He then looks around nervously and then looks at me smiling.

'Hey Yuki, can I talk to you privately for a second?'

I nod to him, here it comes, I thought.

He leads me up the stairs until we reach the top floor with only one metal door, he opens the door and we enter it, comming to the roof of the building. I expect him to ask me to do something concerning the night class, or to forge his documents since I'm the chairman's daughter- though that was humanely impossible considering the fact that the chairman was my father. He walks in front of me then turns to me abruptly, making me take a step back.

'Will you go out with me?' he asks. I stare at him with my mouth slightly open ib surprise, I close it and clear my throat. I was not expecting that, this was the first time I'm being confessed to. It was flattering, but I didn't even like him like that. I cough to clear my throat.

'Um, I'm uh, I'm sorry Riku but I don't like you like that,' I say. I see his shoulders drop and his mouth open, his eyes widening. Okay, maybe he wasn't used to a girl rejecting him.

'I'm really sorry,' I say, turning around. I didn't want to be here feeling awkward when he had just confessed to me. I reach the door and pull the handle to exit the roof, before I can even open a foot of it, his hand comes from behind and roughly pushes the door close. I freeze, his breath hits the side of my neck and his body is pressed to mine from the back, my heart starts beating fast out of fear and surprise.

'You think Zero will ever love you?'

My heart freezes, my breath stops, but I don't even notice these things, the first thought that comes to my mind was the question; how had he found out? The rest were all confirming his question. That no, Zero would never love me. My nose twitches and tears come to my eyes.

'You think anybody could ever feel anything for the likes of you?'

He grabs my hand on the doorknob and pulls me to face him.

'Do you think you can reject me so easily?'

I'm shaking, there is a glint in his eyes I have never seen before, his face has lost the innocence to them and is replaced with a look of pure anger, hatred and disgust. I try to pry his hands off of mine but fail, his grip only tightening. He suddenly pushes me to the wall, I grunt and he grabs my hair, pulling it and throwing me to the floor. I let out a small cry and take deep breaths, I barely hear him come to me and kick me from the back, my vision blurs, my eyes filling with bright splashes of dots and the breath is knocked out of me. He sits on his feet, hovering over me. He brings his hand to my face and gently moves my hair away from my face, my tears still coming.

'Poor Yuki, He'll never love you. You're nothing to him, even I can see that.'

He gets up and leaves me in my misery. I hear the sound of a lock then the sound of fading footsteps, then everything is quiet. That's when the tears start pouring.

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**Okay so I'm hoping the chapters will get longer but thats for the god of fanfiction to decide -_-**

**anyways REVIEW! Tell me what you guys think**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**- Once Upon a Dream

I might have fallen asleep because when I open my eyes, the sun is descending. There are a few seconds of confusion when I finally remember what happened. I have to do my guardian duties I think to myself as I raise myself up and almost laugh at my thoughts after what happened. I hiss as I feel the pain of where Riku kicked my back. I knew there was a bruise but I tried to ignore it as I got up. The door was locked as I thought it would be. I walk to the edge of the building. I was suddenly grateful for the intensive training the headmaster had given me a few years ago. I jumped from the roof to a protruding ledge from a window on the second floor. I climb through it and find myself in the arts supply room. It was a dark room with old paintings and dirty brushes in a stack and a shelf filled with dry paintcans. The walls were a dull shade of grey, but the smell of turpentine strangely comforted me. There was a sink and mirror there as well. I made my way towards it, closing the window behind me. There were paint markings and dirty water marking on the mirror and the sink. I looked at my face. My puffy eyes and red nose stood out the most. My face was dirty, because of the dirt on the roof I think, and so there are tear streaks lining my face and hair was dishevelled. I quickly open the sink water and wash my face. After cleaning up I looked a little presentable, I can't do anything about my eyes though. I could cover that with my bangs, I improvised. I took a step back from the mirror and take a deep breath. I reach for my ribbon and take it off, I do the same with my jacket. I unbutton my shirt and take it off. In nothing but my bra, I slowly turn and look at the place where he had hurt me. I can't help the small gasp that escapes my mouth when I see the bruise. It was a big spot filled with a mixture of dull colors, ranging from green to blue to purple. It was a big bruise that landed on my lower back, a little way to the side. My eyes started tearing again at what he had said to me. A few tears slip but it hurts just to cry. Something in the door catches my eyes. I look up to see Zero looking through the window of the art room. He had a clear view of the bruise and of my body. My heart suddenly jumps but my body doesn't react for a few seconds of confusion, then I reach back to get my shirt, I put it on and turn my back to him. He opens the door and before I even hear his footsteps I feel him grab my arm and turn me around, though his hold on me was gentle, it was demanding.

'Yuki, what was that?' he asks, his eyes burning into mine.

I try to avoid his eyes, 'I f-fell.'

He stares at me and sighs, grabbing my face and forcing me to look at him, he sees the tears and his grip on my face hardens.

'Yuki, what was that?' he repeats, in a stern and hard voice, controlling himself, he knew I was lying. I shake my head, I couldn't tell him. I don't know why, maybe it was because I felt that it was partially my fault, or that I didn't want anything to do with Riku anymore. I wanted to avoid him and never talk about the incident again. But I started to wonder how I would do it, how would I avoid him when I saw him almost everyday of the week? He knew how I felt about Zero and he had told me Zero would never feel that way, what if he taunted me from now on? I don't think I would be able to stay in control. I didn't notice tears fall from my eyes until I feel Zeros thumb clean the streaks. I look into his eyes and he looks into mine.

'Riku,' he whispers.

It was one word but my entire body stiffens and I'm sure he saw the fear and surprise in my eyes when he said his name. His eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes blazed with an intensity I had never seen before, they turned a mixture of red and black. He growled and his fangs appeared when he clenched his teeth.

'No Zero please, I don't want anything to do with him anymore.' I say, tears still falling out, though it felt like acid to my eyes. His eyes soften to their original shade, but not fully, he removes his hands and looks down. He takes my shoulders and turns me, I follow his movement without protest, after seeing the look in his eyes, I didn't dare disobey him. He takes the hem of my shirt and slowly pulls the material up. I feel him stiffen when he sees the bruise, he reaches his hand down and presses down on it, making me jump and hiss in pain. He draws his hand away and I pull away covering myself, I turn to him and see him shaking, his eyes covered by his bangs. His hands are clenched tightly into knuckles. I take the ribbon and put it in my pocket and leave my jacket, not feeling upto wearing it. My tears have stopped. He's still standing there. I take his hand and pull it. He doesn't move.

'I'm debating whether to use my fangs or a weapon to kill him,' he whispers, almost to himself, acid and disgust leaking and wrapping around every word.

My body breaks into a shiver and I start to perspire, 'Zero, there's no need to kill him,' I say to him calmly, I knew he could do it. 'I'll tell the headmaster and he'll do something about it. Please don't do anything rash Zero.'

I pull his hand again and he starts to walk with me leading him. We go outside, the night class is about to get out of their dorms. I let go of Zero's hand and walk faster to get in front of the girls. Suddenly, I see Riku walking along with a few of his friends, he sees me and smirks, I look away.

'Aww, does poor Yuki hurt,' he says in a mock baby voice, I blush when I hear his friends laugh, then I hear a grunt. I turn to see Riku fall to the ground Zero standing over him. He gets up and a flow of blood draws down his nose. The whole courtyard turns to stare at them

'What the hell-'

Before Riku can finish the sentence, Zero pulls his hand back and punches his square in the face. I see a few teeth fall out and I think I heard a crack. His face is too the ground and he slowly picks himself up, getting on his hands and knee, his face turns to me.

'You b*tch,' he says to me, my inside freeze, and I feel a cold sensation down my spine. Zero takes hold of his collar and turns him around, pulling face to his, even from here I can see his eyes blazing.

'I'm the only one you need to talk to,' he punches him again. He falls to the ground. Zero keeps punching him in a rage. I run to him screaming at him to stop, I try to grab his arm but he pulls it away. His eyes are red and I see specks of red in them. I swing my arms around his body.

'Stop it Zero,' I scream. His blows slow as I keep talking to him, then he finally stop, not even breaking a sweat. I pull him and he follows me. I turn to the girl and scream at them.

'Get back to your dorms, and whoever is dumb enough to stay here will get a weeks worth of detention.'

Surprisingly, all the girls started walking back to their dorm. I tug Zeros arm and pull him away from the direction the crowd is going. My knees are shaking and I keep falling as I walk, Zero grabs me around the waist every time, not saying anything. I slowly feel his aura return to a normal one as we keep walking, engulfed in silence. I trip and stumble and feel the sting of pain on my back but whenever Zero touches me I don't notice it.

We keep walking until I see the stables. I knew White Lily would calm him down. I slide open the door and the nostalgic and comfortable smell of hay fills my nose and I suddenly feel calm. I let go of his hand and he takes a step inside, there's the familiar sound of the horses and I feel Zero physically relax. I move to the corner of the room where a dump of hay lays on the floor. I lie down the hay cushioning my injured back, though I felt somewhat cold because I had left my jacket in the storage room. I close my eyes and hear Zero come over to me, I feel something warm fall on me. I look down and see Zero's jacket draped over me. His smell wafts into my senses and I instantly feel that there is nothing else in the world that matters.

He goes and grabs a brush from a basket hanging by the side of White Lily's crib and opens the door to let himself in. He raises it and starts to brush her beautiful mane. I suddenly feel a tingle of jealousy at the way Zero works the brush gently over the beautiful creature.

I get up and wrap his jacket around me, it hangs around me, and I have a sudden feeling of safety and security was over my body. I walk over to the door of where he stands and look at him work. For once, White Lily didn't exclaim when I came near her, but I catch her glares. He doesn't turn to me but I see him glance at me a few times, looking at me up and down, wearing his jacket. I might have seen him blush or it might have been my imagination.

'Thank you Zero,' I whisper to him. He nods. I hesitate, but then continue, surprised at my new confidence,

'He asked me if I wanted to go out with him.'

Silence.

'I told him I can't.'

Silence.

'I told him that there was already someone I liked.'

He stops brushing and turns to me, his eyes are blank but I see a small flash of pain go through them. I stare into his eyes, maybe it was the fact that I felt so comfortable that I said what I did next or it was that I felt that there was nothing that I had left to lose, so I told him.

'It's you Zero.'

Time freezes, I'm as surprised at my confession as he is. His eyes are wide and his brows furrow slightly. The brush hangs on his arm. He turns away from me, opening his mouth then closing it then again. He starts to brush then pulls it away. He takes it of and stands there. I haven't moved an inch, taking in his reaction. I have never seen him more confused in my life. He looks at me, my gaze is fixed on him. His eyes suddenly blaze with an intensity that make my knees weak.

He takes slow step towards me. Closing Whit Lily's door and then stands in front of me.

'What are you trying to say Yuki?' he whispers.

I don't hesitate, 'I love you Zero.'

He brings his hands up and cups my face, his eyes are so soft and beautiful, I feel my heart break. He brings his lips closer to my frozen ones and hesitates an inch from my mouth, his breath hits my lips and they tingle with premonition of his touch.

'Can I?' he whispers.

I nod once and his lips press gently onto mine. I gasp and bring my hands up to his hair and tangle it there, securing him to me. This was beyond anything I have ever felt my whole life. I waited for this for such a long time that now it felt like I was dreaming, it was too good to be true. I can't let this moment end. I never want it to end, it feel like a bundle of fireworks have exploded inside me and I want to fly and soar. My whole world is centered to this very moment and every nerve in my body is directed to where Zero touches me. His lips are gentle and they mould almost too perfectly into mine. After what seems like forever- which was probably a few seconds- we pull away. He leans his forehead to mine and we're both panting, I look into his eyes and my breath catches when I see him looking at me with the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face, his eyes are twinkling and there is a small dimple on his left cheek, I didn't know he had a dimple. He looks down at my body, he brings his hand up and rests it on my chest, over my heart which pounds against his. His smile widens, if that was possible.

'Now I understand,' he says.

I blush, I'm about to explain myself when he takes my hand and brings it up, placing it on his chest, his heart beats against my hand. Almost in sync with mine, his eyes shine as he takes in my reaction, I look at him, unable to speak.

'I love you too, Yuki.'

My entire being has become a fulcrum to this point. I'm suddenly afraid. There was so much happiness, so much of it, that I was afraid. What would happen now? There was always a catch, and I was afraid of mine. Things were too perfect and I suddenly expected this to be a dream. But as Zero held me and as I felt his heart beat under my hand, I knew this was real, and I was happiest at this moment then I've ever been. I thought I would pass out with it. I was going to give my all and enjoy this happiness while it lasted. I smile up at him and he brings his head back down and kisses me again. Sparks igniting inside me when he did. He pulls away too quickly for my liking.

'You have no idea how long I've waited to do that.'

He places another kiss on my lips.

'How long I've waited for you.'

I grab the sides of his face and keep him there, his eyes widen in surprise at my boldness.

'I'm here now,' I say, bringing my face closer to his, 'and I'm not going anywhere,' I say before I kiss him again.

* * *

**How was it :S**

**You guys have probably not noticed but i love writing A/N's at the end of every chapter**

**A cheap thrill of mine XD**

**REVIEWWWWWWW PLEASEEEEEE!**

**P.S: i wrote this story while listening to 'Just Tonight' by The Pretty Reckless. Beautiful song.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**- A Resolution

We both leave the stable together, he holds my hand and doesn't let go. There is a ghost of a smile on his face. His jacket still hangs limp over me. His smell envelopes me and I have never felt such a surge of happiness inside me. I was in total and complete ecstasy, Zero loved me. I felt that if I were to die now, I would die the happiest person in the world. A smile was plastered to my face and even if I tried, I couldn't pry it off. My heart glowed and sang and I had an urge to hum to myself. Zero loved me and I didn't need anything else. We walked around the school once and didn't find any disturbances, so he lead me to the rose garden. The night was a litle chilly but the wind was warm. There was a cresent moon in the sky, so we were veiled by darkness. He brought me inside the walls of the garden and sat me down on a bench and I wrap Zero's jacket around me hungrily. He scoots closer to me and drapes his arms over my shoulder, warmth instantly envelops me which had nothing to do with his jacket. I move closer so my head lay on the curve of his shoulder. I close my eyes, feeling as if this was a dream. I needed to calm down. His hand that were around me started to play with my hair lightly. After a while,I open my eyes and look up at Zero to see him watching me. I smile at him and he smiles back. I look down and pull his other arm to me and start roaming my fingers over his hand. He sigh and his breath ruffles my hair.

'Yuki,' he whispers my name and I feel a shiver go through my body having nothing to do with the cold.

'Hmm?' I inquire, still playing with his hands.

'What do we do now?'

I look up at him, he stares at me intently, 'What do you mean?'

He sighs, 'I mean where do we go from here? I'm a vampire, a Level E no less. I don't understand how we can make this relationship work.'

There is a strain in his voice and I bring my hand up and cup the side of his face.

I hesitate before giving a reply, looking into his eyes. 'I don't know what will happen Zero, but I know that right here is where I want to be. I don't care about what happens to me, I need you. Now and forever.'

His eyes smoulder and I feel like I'm looking at the eyes of an innocent child, but somehow a man who has lived through more then his fair share of experiences. He smiles at me sadly, he brings my hand up and kisses it.

'My thoughts exactly,' he says, 'I'm not letting you get away from me any time soon.'

I smile and go back to the sitting position we were in before, 'I wouldn't dream of it.'

We sit there for a while, not doing anything just talking and listening to the silence of the night. Zero had never been open with me before, if I were to ask a question yesterday he would brush it off, or give me a single word as an answer. Now, he talked more then I had ever heard him talk. I asked about his childhood, his family, his plans, his ideas, his life. He answered everything patiently, and I didn't run out of questions. By the time the sun started to rise, my mind was fogged and my eyes were heavy. Zero says that I need sleep.

'All I seem to be doing these days is sleeping,' I say giving him a pout as he removes his arms from my shoulders. He chuckles- giving my heart a reason to beat faster- and gets up. He gives me his hand and I hold it. He walks me to the dorm. The sky is a mixture of beautiful colors that illuminate every entity on earth, but I can only see Zeros face. When we get to the building, I take off his jacket and he shakes his head.

'It looks better on you then it did on me,' he says smiling. I smile back and leave it hanging limply over my body. It feels as if he's hugging me, and I blush at the thought. He stand in front of me, just staring, I look back at him, entranced. He raises his hand and brushes the hair on my forehead to the side. Then he leans forward and place such a gentle and beautiful kiss on my forehead that my heart breaks. I close my eyes as I savour his touch. Too soon, he leans away and I look back up at him, smiling. He smiles back soothing my hair.

'Good night Yuki,' he whispers.

'Good night Zero.'

He turns and walks away. I take one last look at him and go to my room, I try to assemble my thoughts while I take a shower. Zero loved me and I loved him. The thought made my world glow but then I started to think about what was to come, what would happen if Zero were ever to fall to Level E? I knew my blood provided sustenance, but for how much longer? I didn't know the workings or the skills of a vampire. There must be a way to return Zero into a human. If a pureblood had changed him then Kaname, who was also a pureblood, would know how the transformation would occur. I needed to talk to him. There was no school tomorrow- technically today- so I would go to his dorm and talk to him.

I turned the shower off and changed. I went to bed an idea forming in my mind. I needed to save Zero if I wanted to be with him, and I would try whatever i could to help him.

* * *

***FANGIRL RANT**

**SIGH...I LOVE YOU ZERO XD**

**I read the new raws of the vk chapter and its AMAZING X3 Zero is a f*cking sex god...**

***ignore me as i drool over him on the computer**

**as to where the story is going, i'm no where near done, so your gonna have to put up with me for a while longer beautiful people LOVE YOU!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**- The Knowledge of a Pureblood

I woke up late, well into the afternoon and after washing up, went with Yori to get lunch. I told her what had happened yesterday while we ate our food.

'I knew there was something wrong with that guy,' she says, referring to Riku. I nod, the bruise on my back still hurt but I tried to ignore it.

'Zero went berserk fighting with him, usually he's good at controlling himself.'

I nod again, silent. I didn't tell her about the bruise because I knew she would give me needless attention. I did tell her that he had pushed me really hard and what he had said about Zero. I had also told her that I had confessed to Zero.

'So does that mean your dating now?' she asks.

I choked on my drink. Yori waits as I regain my composure, 'Um, well he never asked me.'

'But he told you he loved you,' she pointed. I blush at how easily she could say the words. I nod, 'Then you are,' she says, putting a piece of croissant into her mouth.

I nod, not saying anything. He hadn't asked me, but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't. I couldn't exactly imagine it.

As we got up, I told Yori I had something to do and that I'll be back in the dorm after a while. She nods, looking puzzled. I make my way through the pavement outside until I get to the night class building. I meet the old man at the entrance and when I tell him I'm from the disciplinary committee, he let me in. I come in through the large, exquisite door and enter the main lounge, I feel insignificant and out of place in the richness of the room, nonetheless, I head straight for the stairs. I knew everybody would be asleep since it was still morning, but I needed to talk to Kaname now. I couldn't get rid of this feeling of anxiety. I would come here as a child when I had been close to Kaname, so I knew where his room was. It was the biggest and most elaborate door located in the entire hallway. When I reached it I knocked lightly. I didn't hear any shuffling or movement from inside, and a second later Kaname opens the door. His hair is wet, as if he just came out of the shower, there's a towel draped over his neck, thankfully he was wearing a navy blue button-up shirt and black pants. He's so beautiful that I find myself staring. He smiles at me, his eyes soft.

'Its good to see you today Yuki. Why don't you come in?'

I thank him as he moves back inside, I follow him. His room is huge, with a 4-poster bed, velvet couches, elaborate tables, brass vases and exqusite décor I have only ever seen on television. He sits on a couch and signals for me to sit beside him. I do he says, blushing a little. If I was the Yuki I had been 2 months ago, this action would have sent my heart to the sky. It's strange how people can change so quickly. The feeling of anxiety deep inside my heart was also ever prevalent as it always is whenever I am with him.

'What can I do for you?' he asks, his actions appearing bored, though his gaze were intense.

I look him in the eyes, I didn't want to be intimidated, 'I wanted to know how I can help Zero from falling to a Level E vampire.'

His eyes widen slightly, but other then that his features don't change.

'And why do you think I would know that?'

'Well only purebloods can turn ordinary humans to vampire. And since you're the only purebloods, I knew that you were the only person I could turn to.'

He stares at me and I try not to avert my eyes. He doesn't say anything for a while, and when I'm about to ask him again, his gaze suddenly turns hard.

'Why does he have such an effect on you?'

I jerk my head back, surprised. I don't answer him, he knew the answer to that, he knew it was Zero I wanted to spend my life with.

'Because I want to save him,' I say, making my voice as hard as I could.

'There is no way, Shizuka is dead,' he says averting his eyes.

'Kaname please, I want to save him. I know there's another way, I know. Please help me,' my voice breaks and tears are forming.

After a few moments of silence, he sighs and runs a hand through his hair.

'Please Kaname, I love him.'

He slowly turns his head to me, his eyes filled with sadness.

'I know,' he utters so low, I didn't think I heard him.

'Then help me,' I whisper, tears falling from my eyes. I reach my hand towards him and hold his, squeezing it, 'Please Kaname.'

He hesitates then nods. I give him a watery smile. He reaches up and wipes my tears away.

'I'm not giving up on you Yuki,' he says smiling. I can't help but smile back.

'I'm don't think you should wait,' I said.

'I don't want to let you go.'

He looks so sad, and he has made me so happy, I edge closer to him and wrap my arms around him.

'I'll never forget you Kaname, I still love you,' I say.

He sighs and wraps his arms around me. We sit in a quite and serene embrace. Finally, I pull myself away. He sits for a second then starts to speak.

'The only way to convert a vampire falling to level E back into human is for the vampire to drink his masters blood,' he hesitates, bringing his finger to rest over his mouth, and puts his left knee over his right, 'There is another way though,' he looks at me, my breathing has stopped and my heart is beating fast, anticipating his answer, 'There's a pureblood I know, Nicholas Ferzhtyn. he's been trying to fix a cure for those who have fallen to level E. I heard from him recently telling me something about him having found a cure, I ignored the statement and didn't dwell on the matter,' he looks away, 'but I haven't heard from him in a while now.'

My heart beats and I restrained myself from shaking him and to tell me everything he knew.

'Where can I find him?' I ask, my voice shaking. Every word weighing a ton.

He's quiet, for a second I think he hasn't heard me, then he speaks, 'I don't know.'

My mind blanks for a second. 'Wh- what do you mean you don't know? Didn't you say he was your friend?'

I knew I didn't have to say it so harshly but I couldn't seem to help it, he looks back at me.

'He disappeared a few months ago,' he tells me. I feel another round of tears about to come on. He was the last hope we had.

'Is there any way, any way, I could find him?'

He hesitates, thinking, 'Seiren might know.'

'Seiren?' I ask, remembering a petite girl who is always by Kaname's side.

He nods, 'He is her grandfather.'

I nod to him, understanding, 'Where is she?'

'She's outside.'

I jerk back, looking at the door. I look back at Kaname, incredulous. He smirks.

'Come in Seiren.'

The handle turns and Seiren walks in, as swift as an assassin but as softly as a swan. She kneels in front of Kaname, resting her palm over her heart.

'Yes my lord.'

'Seiren, miss disciplinary committee member here wanted to ask you about your grandfather.'

Seiren turns to me, her eyes are fierce yet I see loyalty and sincerity underlying their harsh demeanour. She felt intimidating, and I stammered before I asked her my question.

'Did your grandfather find a cure for reverting a Level E to a human?'

She nods, 'He disappeared not long after discovering it. We didn't understand why though, we're suspecting that it was a kidnap.'

'A kidnap?' I ask, my voice a shriek. How can this girl be so calm if her grandfather was kidnapped not three months ago. She nods, seeming slightly annoyed at my high voice.

'He had many enemies, some of them from the council, especially those who encourage the increased number of vampires. If the population of vampires were to decline, then those in the council would have a problem. We're still trying to find him, but it's going to be hard and its getting harder everyday.'

'Where do you think he could be?' I ask, praying that my voice doesn't betray anything about my plan.

She stares at me intently, as if she's trying to read my mind, 'Farquahason. Its a manor that belongs to one of the most powerful vampires in the council.'

I nod to what she is saying, securing it to memory. Kaname keeps his eyes on me. When she's done and told me all she knows of the situation, Kaname thanks her. When she's at the door she turns to me.

'Cross-san,' she says.

'Yes?' I ask, smiling, grateful for her help.

'There's no guarantee that the cure will work even if someone were to receive it. My grandfather lost someone he loved when they turned to Level E, after that he hasn't been the same and his mental state has changed. He might not even have a cure to begin with,' she hesitates, I bite my lips from crying out, 'I'm just saying that you shouldn't get your hopes up.'

She turns and leaves. Me and Kaname are engulfed in silence. I turn to him to see him still watching me. I get up, my face blank and I try to keep my heart steady.

'Thank you for your help Kaname, and sorry for being such a bother.'

He doesn't move, just looks as I turn and go towards the door. When I turn the handle and open his door I hear him whisper to me, 'Be careful Yuki.'

But I cant be sure.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**- The Shadow of Night Blinding Our Sins

Yori and I finish our homework when I get back to my room, relieving ourselves of any work for the weekend. We talk and drink tea then we both , taking a walk around campus. When the time comes, we walk to the cafeteria to eat dinner. When we enter the hall I hear my name being called, I turn to see the girls dorm president coming up to me.

'The chairman sent me to call you, he said it's important.'

I nod, thanking her and tell Yori to have dinner without me. I walk to the chairman's quarters, when I reach his room I hear muffled voices inside. I can't decipher anything and I hate eaves-dropping so I open the door. The chairman sits behind his desk, resting his chin on his hand, his elbows on the table, a serious look on his face. This couldn't be good. I look towards the other figure across the desk from the chairman, which turns when the door open. It's Zero and I feel my heart skip a beat then accelerate, a blush appears on my face and I silently curse the lighting in the room. I walk inside.

'You called me headma- father?'

He notices me in the room and jerks his head up, he gets up and walks around the table to me, he rests his hands on my shoulder, 'Yuki, what did he do to you?'

I look up at Zero, did he know. Was Zero in trouble? I didn't know the chairman would hate us getting together so much. I shut my lips, I wasn't going to tell my foster father that I had kissed the boy I loved. I look down, trying to cover my blush with my bangs. His grip on my shoulder tighten.

'Yuki, what did Riku do to you?' he asks in a stern voice.

I jerk my head up, meeting his gaze. I look at Zero who looks around guiltily. He must have told the chairman what happened. I look back at the chairman.

'It's nothing father.'

The chairman's eyes are searing and angry, I internally cringe, I'm not used to this side of the chairman.

'Yuki, tell me the truth. I want to hear it from your mouth.'

I turn to Zero, this time he looks my direction and our eyes meet, my heart convulses and I look back at the chairman. When his intense gaze reaches mine, I look down.

'Yeah, um, yeah he kicked me,' I mumbled, hoping they didn't hear.

The chairman's grip tightens on me and I see Zero tense and tighten his hands into knuckles, a low growl escaping his lips. The chairman turns back to Zero. They stare at each other as if having a silent conversation through their eyes.

'It's a shame you didn't kill him,' the chairman spoke menacingly, 'But I'm glad you did what you did.' Zero smirks.

'Told you he deserved it.'

The chairman nods, turning back to me, his eyes returning to their warm hue.

'I'm sorry that had to happen to you Yuki,' he says, his voice laced with guilt.

'It's okay chairman, it wasn't your fault.'

'That boy has been expelled. His parents wanted Zero expelled as well but when they found out their son had injured a girl, they left.'

I nodded, glad I wouldn't see him again.

'I made your favourite,' he says suddenly looking excited, I smile at his enthusiasm, 'Pork fried with ginger and soy sauce.'

I laugh, 'I'll wash up then I'll come and we'll eat together, you too Zero.'

Saying his name sent me into a mini heart attack. He turns and nods at me. I turn before either can see me blush and walk to the nearest bathroom, letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I had an extra pair of pyjamas in the bathroom which I kept just in case. I decided to take a shower and got changed into the tanktop and sweatpants. I walked out of the bathroom to see Zero leaning against the wall. He looks up when I come out.

'Hi,' he says.

'Hey,' I reply smiling. I haven't seen him all day and I indulge at the sight of him now.

'The chairman's calling you,' he tells me, pushing himself off the wall, 'dinners ready.'

'Oh okay,' I say, blushing, embarrassed at my bold stares. I start walking and he follows me. I feel him take a strand of my hair into his hands. I turn to see him smiling, he leans forward and put his mouth against my ear, I shiver at the proximity and my heart goes haywire.

'You smell nice,' he says chuckling.

He walks in front of me and I try to regain my composure. We get to the dining room and I go towards the closet and get a sweater out. I wrap it around myself and sit on the table. Zero sits in front of me and the chairman sits at the head. We eat our dinner in silence except for the many exclaims and gushes by the headmaster.

When we're done eating I wash the dirty dishes in the sink. By the time I finish, my eyes are drooping. I feel so comfortable with the warm atmosphere and my soft pyjamas that I ask the chairman if I can sleep in the guest room. He squeals and says we'll have a pillow fight. I deny his request since I'm tired, sending him crying to his room.

I head to my room, Zero left as soon as he had finished dinner. I take off my sweater, get into bed. As I'm about to fall asleep, I hear the door open, then after a few seconds, I hear the creak as it closes. It was probably the chairman coming to check on me. I feel a compression on my bed and the covers are gently pulled off me. I realize its Zero, I turn my head to face him and I can see his eyes glow red, the color of blood. He kneels beside me, panting. I switch from a side position and lay on my back. I pull my hair away from my neck and arch it, giving him access. He hesitates then he moves and places himself over me, so my legs were trapped between his. He places his hands on either side of my head and brings his face closer to my neck, I close my eyes. I feel his hot breath hit my bare neck and I shudder. My eyes shoot open as I feel him kiss a sensitive spot on my neck, making me moan. I blush at the sound, but I couldn't help it, my body burned for him. He then licks the same spot, I wrap my hands around him, pulling him closer, when I feel the familiar prick of his fangs I close my eyes. I feel the pain before anything. An almost unbearable pain that shoots through my body, that my mind blanks-out from the agony, making me grip his hair and arm, whimpering slightly. Then the pain turns into a soft pleasure. I feel my blood being drawn into Zero. I tighten my arms around his neck and relax my position, enjoying the pure ecstasy of him drinking from me. My toes curl and I bite my lip. Trying my hardest to control the little moans that threaten to escape from within me. He drinks from me for a while then finally extracts his fangs from my neck. Some of the pain had returned but I was still too busy with the ecstasy to feel it. He licks my neck and I shiver, letting a small moan escape. He pulls away and hovers over me, his hands on either side of my head supporting him.

I blush slightly at the sound I had made. I smile apologetically, knowing he can only see a slight outline because of the darkness, 'I'm sorry.'

I see his smile, 'Don't be,' he whispers.

He leans down and kisses me gently, I wrap my arms around him, trapping him to me. He smiles against my lips, I feel his body on mine and it feels so good to kiss him, that, almost instinctively, I pull at his bottom lip, causing him to moan slightly. I feel him stiffen, as surprised as I am, I do it again and I feel the same sound reverberate through him. He pulls away and leans on his arms, I'm also breathing hard and he stares at me. Suddenly, almost roughly, he grabs the back of my neck and brings my face up slightly, giving his more room and kisses me deeply. My hands start to roam over his body, his muscles tensing under my touch. I feel his heart race and his breath comes out in uneven breaths, the same reaction I had. This time he nips my bottom lips and I moan slightly, opening my mouth, he takes advantage of the situation and I feel his tongue move inside. My heart is exploding, and my brain has turned fuzzy. His tongue roams the inside of my mouth, I moan into his. I taste the coppery taste of my blood inside his mouth, and feel such a connection to him that I want to be closer to him, closer then I already am, but I can't understand this feeling and it frustrates me. He pulls away and I lay back on my pillow panting. My eyes close as I feel his breath warm my face.

'Your tired,' he says, 'I'll leave.'

'No,' I scream, we both turn silent listening to see if the headmaster heard. Then I sigh when I hear nothing, Zero chuckles.

'Okay, what do I do then?'

'Stay,' I whisper. His face turns serious and I grip his arm. He lays down beside me and pulls the covers over his body and mine. He moves his arm under me and I place my head over the crook of his arm, fitting snuggly into him. He plays with my hair as my eyes close. I hear him whisper my name over and over again as sleep envelops me then he told me he loved me, but it could have been a dream.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**- The Escape

I woke up the next morning to find my arm draped over Zero's body, I blush at the contact but snuggle into him nonetheless, taking advantage of the fact that he was asleep.

'Comfortable?'

I almost jump, I look up to see Zero wide awake staring down at me, a small smile on his face. I blush and smile at him.

'Good morning Zero.'

I reluctantly pull my hands away. He gets up and kisses my forehead, making my heart beat speed-up. I feel his lips turn up into a smile against my skin. He pulls away, telling me he's going to clean himself up and leaves the room. I let out a breath and go to the bathroom, already feeling anxious to see him again, I feel like such an obsessive freak. I wash my face, brush my teeth and run a comb through my hair. When I get back to the room I see Zero sitting on the bed, his back leaning against the post. I come over and sit opposite him. With what happened yesterday night I had forgotten to tell him about what I had talked to Kaname about.

'What are you thinking?' he asks, I look to see him watching me intently.

'Umm... I forgot to tell you that I went to visit Kaname yesterday,' I say cautiously, expecting his reaction. He loses his smile and averts his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows. I notice his hand tighten slightly and the slight clench of his jaw. I keep talking so he doesn't get any misunderstandings.

'I asked him if there was any way to prevent you from a becoming a level E.'

His head shoots up so quickly I was surprised his didn't get whiplash. His eyes are wide as he looks into mine, his mouth set into a straight line. When he doesn't talk I keep going.

'He told me there was a pureblood name Nicholas Ferzhtyn who had discovered a cure for those falling to Level E. He's Seiren grandfather, she told me that he was kidnapped a few months ago.'

I stop talking when he starts shaking his head, 'Yuki, that's not possible. He probably wanted to cheer you up or something and he told you that lie.'

My mouth hangs open, 'You don't know if it's a lie. Zero listen, even if there's an inch of hope, shouldn't we go look for it.'

His face hardens, 'What are you planning Yuki?'

I avert my eyes and turn my face towards the window, 'This is a perfect opportunity to save you Zero.'

I feel him lean over to me, he raises his hand and takes hold of my chin, bringing my face back to his.

'Yuki, do not involve yourself in this. I'll find a way, don't you dare get yourself in any kind of trouble because of me.'

Tears form in my eyes and his face softens. 'I need you Zero,' I whisper, 'I need you with me.'

I choke on my words and stop talking, tears falling from my eyes to his hands. There's so much i want to say but my sobs make my thoughts impossible to become words. He takes my arm and gently pulls me into an embrace. I rest my head against his shoulder my face buried in his neck. He runs his hand through my hair, trying to calm me.

'I wont leave you Yuki,' he whispers as the tears continue to fall. I cling to him, crying into his shoulder, as if he really would dissapear. The ache of helplessness I feel weighs my heart until I feel as if I'm dreaming. That reality is nothing more then an illusion. But in this dream, I am with Zero, and that is enough for me, that is what i want to protect. I know what I have to do then, my mind is set. And I know It'll hurt him more then it'll hurt me.

* * *

A week passes by when finally the chairman calls Zero to his office and gives him his next assignment sent from the hunters society. I have packed what I need in a small bag and, for the past week, hid it underneath my bed. I haven't told anyone about it, though I plan to ask Seiren for information, and I know she doesn't care about me enough to stop me. Before Zero left he came to my room to say good bye. I wasn't used to this and I couldn't stop blushing. usually, he would leave without even informing me. Yori was at the library for a group project and Zero came to my room before he was due to leave. I was sitting on my bed, feeling all too self-conscience and acting suspicious. He came over and pulled me into his arms. I rested my head on his shoulder and wrap my arms around him, inhaling his scent. My heart thumping and my stomach filled with butterflies. I could never get used to him. He pulls away and puts his hands on either side of my face, pulling me to him. He kisses me gently and I kiss him back, pulling him closer. We stay like that, testing how far our hearts could go without leaping out of our mouths. He pulls away and we're both breathing hard. He comes back for another kiss and nips my bottom lip, I open my mouth and he moves his tongue inside. Feeling somewhat confident, I slip my tongue into his mouth when he pulls his away. He stiffens, I try to copy his movement with my tongue and I feel him shiver, he pulls my body closer to his and groans. After a while I pull away and he rests his forehead against mine.

'I love you Zero,' I whisper, my eyes closed.

He lets out a sigh, 'I love you too Yuki.'

I look at him and his eyes are soft and innocent, I want to cry and laugh and scream and dance and cry again, so many emotions I have to control. I smile at him and he pulls away, his kisses my forehead and lets himself out, he looks back before leaving, his hand on the doorknob.

'I'll be back soon,' he says.

I nod, my stomach churning and tying up in knots. So will I, hopefully.

* * *

As soon as he leaves through the gates, I make my way to the night dorm. I try to make myself inconspicuous but I find Takuma lounging with Shiki and Rima in the main hall, both the boys playing chess, while Rima lies her head on Shiki's lap. I walk in and ask for Seiren.

'Why hello Yuki, you look awfully tempting today,' Takumi tells me, his smile and eyes don't go well with his words. I try and smile nonetheless.

'Um, thanks I guess.'

'Third room on the left,' Shiki says me without looking at me. I bow to them and go up the stairs. I knock on her door and after a few seconds she opens it. Her room is dark, but it doesn't look like she's been sleeping.

'I'm sorry to disturb you, but I really need your help.'

She stares at me, her gaze intimidating, but I don't back down, and after a few seconds, she lets me in. I thank her and come into the room. There is no source of light and she stands there beside the door, not expecting me to stay long, which was true.

'Can you tell me where Farquhason is?'

She sighs, annoyed at me. 'It's isn't really that far from here, but its in a secluded area, not many people know about it.'

I nod, listening to every word she says intently. She looks at me, then away.

'You take the train to Obit district, from there you get on the train that goes straight to Itachi, you get off the train and take the bus to Noatak, it's a 45 minute drive. You get off and from there you'll have to walk on foot through the Rossum forest, most people get lost here and don't find their way back. However, even if there is a slight chance that you might find the manor, its heavily guarded by vampires far exceeding your strength. Almost as powerful as most of the aristocrats here.'

My self-assureance is depleting. I had no idea what I was going to do. She pauses, 'There's a way to get into the building though, voluntarily,' she turns her gaze to me, her head turned away, 'Sometimes, the master of Farquhason sends his guards to the village in the Rossum forest to get volunteers of people willing to give their blood. Mostly girls. I don't know much else.'

She turns to me then. I thank her, letting out the breath I hadn't known I was holding, and she lets me out of her room. I stop her before she closes her door.

'Seiren, please don't tell anyone,' I say.

She gives me a hard look, though she might be intimidating, I knew I could trust her.

'If Kaname-sama asks me I will tell him,' she says, I nod. Better then nothing.

I leave the building, its twilight and I go to my room. Yori isn't back yet and I'm somewhat grateful. I get my bag from under my bed and put on my jacket over me. I have on a long and comfortable shirt, and tights. I'm wearing high boots and the necklace from Zero. I tie my hair up and leave the building through the back. I turn and take one last look at the academy. Then I turn away, trying to calm my anxiety. I reach the black gates and jump over them, beginning my escape.

* * *

**(A/N) This was originally two chapter but i love you all too much XD**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**- The Journey

I walk to town and get to the train station, I buy a ticket for Obit and get on the train. I keep my head down, feeling my heart thump. I feel nauseous, my stomach twists in uncomfortable knots. I keep thinking I see a familiar face but I know that there's nobody I know here.

The train starts moving after what seems like forever. It's night and I can't see anything outside except for small outlines. I try to relax but my heart is thumping a mile a minute. Okay Yuki, think, I tell myself. I formulate possible scenarios in my head. If Yori came back to our room now, she won't think anything of me not being there, sometimes I would perform guardian duty till dawn, so I don't think she would get suspicious until breakfast tomorrow. I was grateful there were no classes the next day. During breakfast, she'll probably think I was with the chairman like I was last week. The chairman wouldn't get suspicious until tomorrow, when I dont show up when he makes dinner for me and Zero, which he does every week, but even though he might be suspicious, he wouldn't think much of it. It was until the chairman talked to Yori or took some initiative to search for me would he notice me gone. Yori would notice when school would start and I wouldn't be there for classes and if everything went according to plan, I won't take that long. Even so, those two weren't the problem. If Zero were to come home early he would obviously find me missing almost immediately. He knew where I would be because i had told him about a cure for him and he would try to get information out of Kaname. He would come and find me. I had to finish this before that. If he came back by tomorrow night, then he'll notice I'm gone Sunday morning. I only had a day to get the cure for him.

I know there's nothing I can do now but I can't go to sleep. I'm nervous; my knees rock up and down constantly and I twist my fingers. My heart keeps jumping and I'm perspiring even though it's chilly out. Finally, as I see a glimmer of sunlight mounting the horizon from the window, we arrive at the stop. I get off, my heart still jumping causing me to have jerky movements, I feel stiff because I haven't slept all night. I'm grateful I only have a bag, so I'm one of the first ones off the train. I go to the ticket booth and get a one-way for Itachi. I go to the bathroom and fix myself up. I buy a muffin and a caramel mocha, for the energy. Even though there's twenty minuites for the train to move again, I get on and sit in a secluded section. My heart thumps and my stomach ties itself in knots. I can't eat because I feel my food will come back out. I lay my head against the seat and close my eyes.

My eyes open to the sun shining on my face, the trains still moving and I rock from side to side. I jerk up and look at the clock. 4 hours have passed, only 2 more to go. I rub my hands over my face and my eyes land on my drink, which is now cold. My muffin is wrapped in plastic and it still looks fresh. I feel stiff and bloated. I take off my jacket, I take my bag and walk to the bathroom. I wash my face, and brush my teeth. I comb my hair, which sticks out every which way and walk to my seat.

I throw my mocha away and take a drink from my water can. I eat bits of the muffin even though I don't feel hungry. I wait for the train to finally stop at Itachi. I get off in a hurry and make my way to the ticket booth and buy a bus ticket for Noatak. I wait at the terminal, and when the bus arrives I get on. There weren't many people so I sit on the corner seat. We go through grasslands and then up a steep hill. Civilization deteriorating as we keep going. Finally, after an hour of nervous movements and fluttering butterflies in my stomach, the bus arrives to Noatak. I get off, thanking the driver. Nobody else gets off the almost vacant bus. I look around when the bus is gone sending a whiff of dust in its wake. Where I get off there's a shabby bench, and a pole with the name of the village 'Shuma' written on it, pointing to the direction of the narrow path between the trees which were behind me. I'm standing where the rough ground meets a wooden bridge. There are two roads, one was the dirt path of the bus and the other lay behind me, leading into a forest. I hear the rush of water under the bridge. I can see mountains at the distance. There is forest all around me. Other then that, there is nothing. I hear the birds and a sound of cicadas.

I don't waste anymore time and make my way through the path that lies behind me. As I go through the forest, sounds from the river and the animals decrease. The path would sometimes turns narrow and I would be afraid I've taken a wrong turn or got lost, but it would suddenly widen and I would keep going. After a while of walking, my lips were chapped and my calves were rigid. I didn't stop to rest because that would make me feel uneasy, it felt calm to move and it also kept me from panicking. Finally, when the sun is setting, and twilight has started, I catch the first glimpse of a wooden chimney, I let out an audible sigh of relief, and quicken my pace.

When I emerge from the forest it feels like I've stepped into a medieval era. The houses are made out of wood and people wearing shabby and large garments walk around. Kids play with a dog and old people walk together, discussing gossip, and men run from one house to another, performing errands. I take slow step into the village. Though some turn to stare at me, others ignore me. I walk until I find what looks like an inn. There is a cherry blossom outside it and I smile as I'm momentarily reminded of home. I walk to the inn, somewhat more confident in my stride. I open the door and take a look inside, the house is dimly lit and there aren't many people sitting on the tables. I make my way to the stand where a plumb women stands. She greets me with a smile on her face.

'You need a room dear?' she asks, she's missing a tooth, I notice when she smiles.

I smile back, 'Yes, please.'

She nods, 'I'll go and clean up one for you, you have a seat on a table and I'll ask Hachi to get you a drink.'

I thank her and make my way to a seat in the corner. I can't believe I'm here, it almost seems like I'm watching a movie, that me being here isn't real, almost a dream. My mind is fuzzy and a young man comes over and places a cup in front of me, giving me a wink when I smile at him. I take a sip and burn my tongue. It's tea, and I blow on the contents before drinking from it again.

As I put my cup down, a group of three men open the door to the inn. The room suddenly gets quiet and I can't help but stare, it wasn't the fact that they were all pale and were dressed in complete black, but the fact that they were all so beautiful. I knew right then that they were vampires. My heart pounded and one of them turns to look at me. I try to not act suspicious and take another sip from my cup. He pushes the other two away and whispers something to them before coming over to me. I keep my eyes averted. I hear the sound of a chair being dragged and a thump as it lands beside my table I look at the man when he sits down opposite me, he has ash-blond hair and striking green eyes. A smirk forming the features of his face. He closes his eyes and inhales.

'You smell really good,' he says, opening them.

I try to act as oblivious as any normal person would. 'It's Givenchy,' I say, smiling at him flirtingly.

His smirk widens, I can see his fangs. I look at them and feign terror, surprise and a hint amusement. He chuckles falling for my act.

'Are those fake?' I ask, smiling and letting out a nervous laugh. His smile widens.

'What do you think princess,' he says in a low voice, he then curls his lips back so that I can see his fangs attached to his gums, his eyes turn red and he lets out a growl. It sent my body in a fit of shivers.

'What are you?' I whisper to him.

He pauses smiling at my obvious terror, 'Do you want to become like me?' he whispers to me.

My eyes widen, I let a few seconds pass and smile at him, even letting out a laugh.

'You're joking right?' I say incredulous. He's obviously enjoying my reactions, His eyes turn a red color and I back away slightly, glad that my heart thumped in surprise. He shrugs.

'If you offer yourself to my master, he can make you like me.'

He pauses for effect. I act oblivious.

'Wh-what do you mean?' I ask, stammering. I swear I should be an actress.

He reaches his hand out and traces a line through my neck. I didn't want him touching the necklace so I pulled away a little.

'If you offer him your blood willingly, my master will make you like me; immortal, beautiful and superior to all beings.'

My mouth hangs open. 'Immortal?' I whisper.

He nods, 'Inhumane strength.'

'Beauty?' I ask, he nods. Looking me up and down.

I clear my throat, 'And where is your master?' I ask.

'I'll take you to him,' he whispers.

I blink, as if dumfounded.

'Can we go now?' I ask, feigning enthusiasm, which wasn't hard, my heart thump and stomach churned, I was going to go.

He chuckles at my enthusiasm, 'If you want to, but you'll have to wait in the car for about an hour.'

I nod, my eyes glazed, letting out a giggle. I get up and reach for my bag to pay for the tea, which was still half full. I hear the man dropping coins and look down to see a few coins and bills on the table, my mouth drops, I had only gotten a cup of tea. The man takes my arm and drags me out of the Inn. I hear one of the men say that the others are waiting at room 7.

He leads me to the car and opens the door for me. I take a seat and he leaves. My blood must smell really good for him to give me such special service. I wait for a while. The driver at the front doesn't turn or make any kind of move to acknowledge me. My throat is dry. My knees move up and down, rocking the car. I wait for what feels like forever. Zero would probably be back by now, if not then I would have more time. The window is down and I see the girls come out in groups of three and there are about five groups. Two other girls sit with me. After the last girls come out, I hear the car start and we move. The windows are tainted and rolled up, I can't pull it back down. My heart jumps to my mouth and my stomach churns. The other two girls don't speak and seem afraid. The windows are tinted and I can't see anything outside. I have no choice but to sit there and think. I didn't trust myself enough right now to start thinking, so I try not to. I look at the girls instead. One of them has blond hair and brown eyes. The other has red hair and green eyes. They're both beautiful. They both have on an oversized dress and smell like soap and detergent.

The blond girl turns her head to me and smiles at me warmly, I smile back.

'I haven't seen you around here,' the blond girl says. I nod.

'I was about to stay at the inn when one of the guys came and asked me to come.'

She nods, 'I'm Valerie by the way, and that's Layla.'

The girl with red hair turns to me, nods and looks away.

'I'm…' I pause, it would be better not to say my actual name. Chairman had had a sort of a reputation, or so I've heard, 'Sakura.'

She nods, we fall into an awkward silence, not because we have nothing else to talk about, its because we both want to ask the other the same question; Why are you here?

I couldn't afford to make conversation at a time like this, 'Do you guys know anyone named Nicholas Ferzhtyn?'

They both turn to me, slowly, then their eyes widen and they look at each other. Valerie comes closer to me, taking a look at the driver before turning back to me.

'This isn't our first time going to the manor,' she pauses and looks at Layla as if for affirmation to keep talking, when she doesn't say anything, Valerie sighs and turns back to me, continuing where she left off, We've been there before, me and Layla together. They take us to a room, where they huddle us all together. From there, girls are chosen and sent to the master one by one. I remember Nana being chosen, she was our friend and we used to play in the village together, she was the prettiest out of all of us. The next person chosen was Layla. She was led to his room and she saw Nana being carried out, blood dripping from her neck. The man who was carrying her hands her to a guard and tell him to take her to Ferzhtyn in the east wing,' she's quiet and I don't make a sound, don't even breath, 'We didn't think much of it then, but suddenly all us girls started noticing people who would be sent to Ferzhtyn, and the worst part is that they wouldn't come back to the village with us. One time another girl heard the guard complain that there were too many of their kind as it was.'

She stops talking and I let out a breath. The east wing. That's where I have to go. Valerie returns to her seat.

'Can I ask you something Sakura?' she asks. I nod, 'Why do you want to meet him? Nicolas Ferzhtyn I mean.'

I turn to look outside, though I can hardly see anything. 'He has something I need.'

They're both quiet and stare at me. i feel their eyes and move uncomfortably under their scrutiny.

'Well good luck finding it,' I hear Layla say. Talking for the first and only time during the drive.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**- Another Pureblood

I fall asleep in soft leather seat of the car. It takes more then half the day when I finally feel the car come to a stop. My stomach churns and flips and my heart thumps. Zero has probably discovered me gone by now, maybe he's already on the train. I play with my fingers, an excuse to keep myself busy and not think. Now that I'm here I feel even more tense and anxious.

All three of us get out of the car when somebody opens it for us. Even though I know it's a mansion, it looks more like a museum. The house is huge and it extends to a considerable distance. The door is huge and white. The sun is high and I can smell the grass. I see the other girls from the cars parked behind us get out, they're all beautiful. As I gawk, the man who had talked to me at the inn come over to me. He winks and I force a smile. He walks in and the others follow him. The inside of the house is even more elaborate then the outside. The hall is filled with painting and expensive decors, the roof is painted as the artists visions of heaven with naked baby angels, soft clouds and beautiful men and women. He leads us up the winding staircase. After that we're led through a hall and a sharp turn leads us into a room. The room is dark and feels hot and stuffy. All the girls gather inside and the door closes behind us.

We wait for about two hours before the door finally opens. A man stands there and suddenly grabs a random girl by the arm and pulls her out, slamming the door behind him. The man returns every half-hour or so and soon the room turns almost vacant. A few hours pass when I see the man from the bar opens the door and scans the room., roaming his eyes through the girls. When they rest on me he smiles and signals for me to follow him with his fingers. I take one last look at Valerie and Layla, they give me a confident smile and I follow him out of the room, my bag hanging down my side.

'I told my master about you.' he said.

'Did you?' I ask, trying to act giddy, which wasn't that hard considering my heart was thumping and jumping a mile a minute. I found it hard to listen to him.

'Yes,' he nods, 'I told him that I caught something special today,' he smiles and I see his fangs and internally shiver.

We arrive at a red door with a golden knob and hinges. He takes my bag from me and opens the door. He bows to me, extending him hand towards the door, indicating for me to enter it. I look inside cautiously, everything is dark. I take a deep breath my thought turn to Zero, I'm doing this for him. A burning sensation of protectiveness and love runs through me like water and I take a step inside.

It takes a while for my eyes to adjust to the outlines of objects, other then that, everything is black, I hear the door close behind me and I turn in time to hear the click of a lock. I move my eyes around the room, I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I suddenly feel a tingling sensation along my jaw line. I freeze realizing it's a hand caressing my face. My heart jumps and I gasp as I see a figure standing in front of me. He grabs the side of my face and tilts it.

'You smell nice,' he whispers in my ear, I shiver, but suddenly he's gone and I feel thin air where he was standing, I reach up and don't feel anything. He comes from behind me and grabs my hair, jerking it back, I gasp as he pulls me to him, suddenly his fangs cut into the skin of my neck. I can't hold back the cry of pain that escapes my lips, he puts a hand roughly over my face, covering my mouth and nose. I can't breath, tears leak from my eyes as the pain increases. This was nothing like the sensation I felt with Zero when he would drink from me, though it started off painful, it turned into pure ecstasy. Zero was careful and gentle with me. This man was rough and nearly bit my neck of. I was getting dizzy with the amount he was taking, I try to push him with the strength I didn't have. He stops and I moves away I fall on the floor, breathing hard. Blood trickles down my neck. My mind is foggy and my thoughts ragged. I faintly hear voices at a distance. I feel someone pick me up, I don't protest, rather lie limply against them. I am carried outside, I notice this when light hits my heavy eyes, I hear someone say to take me to the east wing. I feel a surge inside me, but I don't know why. I had to do something there, but what? I didn't know, all I wanted to do right now was close my eyes to the dreariness of it. Then suddenly I remember why I had come, it was for Zero, my mind clears somewhat, though my strength was failing. My body wants me to sleep and I think my eyes close for a minute and fall into unconsciousness, but wake up just as quick. I need to do this. I've gotten so far and I wasn't going to quit now. Now that I was going to the east wind to meet Nicholas Ferzhtyn, I couldn't fall asleep, I thought incredulously.

I was carried to a wooden door. The guard placed me on my feet and the world turned upside-down. Bile rose to my throat and I leaned against the wall and vomited. The guard stood behind me. When I turned to him he handed me a cloths and my bag. I wiped my face and he opened the door. His eyes filled with pity. I take the water bottle out of my bag and drink from it, it runs down my throat clearing it and my mind somewhat stabilizes. I nod at him and enter the room. It's a long passageway, on one side there are bars after bars behind which, I guess, are prisoners and on the other there are candles adorning the brick wall. I walk through the passage until I see a man sitting on a wooden chair, his back leaned against the wall. He looks up at me and stands. He points to a door at the end of the hallway. I look at him and he moves his head towards the door. I get the message and walk to the door. I hesitate before opening it. It's a small, round room with a high ceiling. It's dark except for a small ray of moonlight coming in through a small window on one side. My eyes take time to adjust as I close the door behind me. I hear a groan.

'Another one I suppose.'

I start to shiver, the voice is hoarse and somewhat bored. I look around until my eyes rest on a figure laying on what can be called a bed but far from it. My eyes adjust and I see the figure get up. He walks to a side of the room and I hear the sound of a match, a fire lights and he places the fire against a candle, the room is suddenly illuminated enough for me to see what small objects are in here. There is a shabby looking bed, with a dirty pillow. Small puddles form on the stone floor, the walls are made of stone as well. I stare at the walls, there are large black markings on them. It's smeared on the entire wall, so much so that I could hardly tell that it was actually made of brown bricks. I have never seen anything like it, it seems aggressive in a language foreign to me.

'They are what reduce my powers,' he says. I turn to him, he's still standing there. I wait for him to continue. He sigh as I if should know this already. He's beautiful, the candle hardly helps in lighting his features but I can plainly tell that he's not human. His eyes are a mixture of grey and black, he has ash-blond hair and he looks too young for a grandfather.

'These marking,' he says, waving his hands over to the marks, 'they keep me from using my powers. Though they cannot stop me completely they are enough for me to behave as a normal vampire would.'

I bow to him, 'I have been waiting to meet with you,' I say to him as I straighten. He raises an eyebrow at me, 'I understand that you have discovered a cure for those befallen to Level E.'

My heart is racing, my entire journey, my entire being depends on his answer. I try my hardest to focus my attention on him. His eyes widen.

'And how have you come across that information?' he asks.

I hesitate, but I know that he can't be too much of a threat since he himself is locked up, 'I know your granddaughter, Seiren. She told me I could find you here. Please tell me, have you found a cure? Please.'

He shakes his head and my heart breaks but I keep on going, keeping hold of that small glimpse left.

'Please,' I whispers, I don't notice the tears until they fall from my eyes, I ignore them, 'I have someone I have to save.'

He stares at me, 'What is your name?'

'Yuki Cross.'

His eyes momentarily widen, 'Cross, as in the lunatic running the academy, the ex-vampire hunter?' I nod at him, his attitude has suddenly changed, 'I didn't know he had a daughter,' he says suspiciously.

'I was adopted, Kaname Kuran brought me to h-'

'Wait, Kaname, the pureblood,' he asks, his voice incredulous.

I start to get frustrated and control myself from rolling my eyes at him, 'He's the one who first mentioned you to me,' I say.

He comes towards me and smiles, 'You should have said that earlier, I owe those two my life.'

He looks past me and I have a feeling he doesn't know we're in here anymore. I cough once and he turns back to me. He comes near me and holds up his hand. I take it and he leads me to the bed. He sits me down and sits beside me.

'A long time ago, I had someone I loved as well, a human. She was bitten by a pureblood and turned into a vampire. I didn't want to change her, I wanted to keep her in her human state, so beautiful and pure. However, when she changed there was no turning back. The pureblood had not exchanged blood with her so she fell to level E. I tried as hard as I could to save her. I gave her my own pure vampire blood but that was not enough, she eventually fell and was executed by hunters,' his eyes glaze and take on a distant look, 'I loved her, and I tried everything I could but it wasn't enough. After she was gone I never stopped trying. As millennia passed, technology advanced and I was able to create a cure. I have tested it and it is full-proof. I have not told anyone this.'

His eyes finally return to me, My heart thumps and I feel light and fuzzy, there was a cure, I'm on the verge of hyperventilating and I try to control myself. I can save him. I can save Zero.

'Where is it?' I ask, my voice high.

'It's not here with me, I can give it to you. But I'll need your help to get out of here.'

I nod so hard I get whiplash, 'Of course.'

He nods and gives me a rigid yet determined smile. My heart is pounding, another plan forming in my mind.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**- Salvation

I scream as loud as I could filled with as much anguish as I could retain. Then after about a few minutes I stop, breathing hard, silence fills the room, though light echoes still reverberate in our ears. After 5 minutes, just as Nicholas had said, the guard opens the door. Nicholas sits on his bed casually, the guard looks around for a body half-drained of blood. He steps inside the room and i shut the door. The guard jumps and spins around, panic and fear in his eyesas he sees me pointing Artemis towards his neck. Nicholas smiles and gets off the bed. The guard cowers as Nicholas comes towards him, he reaches to the guards coat and extracts a chain of keys from his pocket.

'Have a nice life,' Nicholas whispers to the guard before he turna and we both exit the room. Nicholas locks the door behind him. 'They won't notice we're gone until it's too late.'

We turn away from the door and I suddenly feel a pull so strong I almost fall on my knees. I look to Nicholas, his eyes are closed but I can almost feel the huge amount of power and energy he gains. Those markings were what were keeping him from his full power, and now that he was out of the room, a surge of power filled him and made him stronger than all the vampires in the castle put together. He starts walking towards the door. Suddenly, several hands reach out from the bars of the room and try and grab onto Nicholas, to no avail. They are almost bones, with hardly any skin. I look inside the prison and almost heave, they were all girls, with their hair hangng limply over their face, their features were sunk in, their eyes bulging, as if they had starved and were sloly dieing. Like zombies. I shiver and walk closer to Nicholas who doesn't seem fazed.

'That was supposed to happen to you,' he says curtly. I stop, 'They all screamed as loud as you did.'

'You means these are the girls who were-'

'Turned into vampires,' he finishes, 'By me. They are then sent and sucked dry by Ryu Sasakura,' he mocked the name. When I gave him a quesioning look he told me Ryu was the master of the manor.

'But why would he turn girls into vampires? Can't he just use human girls?'

He shrugs, 'Vampires are immune to weaknesses, the blood of humans is tempting, it's true, but they're so fragile. It's harder to kill a vampire. So he's created a 'blood bank.' And the fact that Ryu wants to build upon the population of vampires doesn't help. He kidnapped me, a pureblood, so I could do the dirty work for him. Disgusting man.'

We're quiet as we walk to the door at the end of the hall. When we get out the guard who brought me is standing there, he sees Nicholas and freezes, before he can move he's on the floor and Nicholas hasn't even raised a finger. We keep walking down the hall, I feel numb, as if all this isn't really happening. It hasn't set in yet. Suddenly I feel myself being lifted off the ground.

'If we walk in your pace we'll never get out of here,' I hear Nicholas say from under me in an amused voice.

I don't even have time to open my mouth when the breath is knocked out of me. My eyes burn and I can't keep them open, there is so much force from ahead that my head falls back. I see only blurs of colors, my stomach turns. I can't breath and I almost pass out when we finally stop. We're outside and I fall against Nicholas shoulder. I feel the stomach heave.

'Put me down please,' I say. He lets me go and I turn to a bush and heave, there is nothing in me and it feels like my stomach itself is coming through my mouth, tears come to my eyes as my throat burns. I look up to Nicholas, he smiles down at me. Its still dark and I can only see an outline of his features thanks to the cresent moon. He reaches into my bag and hands me my bottle. I drink it down greedily. He waits for me patiently until I finish.

'If you don't want to get caught we'll have to do that again.'

I nod, I couldn't afford to be tired at a time like this. I get up and he swings me on his back I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, he doesn't seem fazed by my weight or my choking his neck. He tells me to put my head down and close my eyes. I do that, and once he starts running I feel the of rush of wind go through my hair and my stomach jumps. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, but other then that I feel fine. We travel for what seems like minutes and when I open my eyes we're at a train station. I get off his back.

'We're taking a train?' I ask.

He nods, 'I'm tired.'

I smile at him and we make our way to the booth, 'Where are we going?'

'To Ushouma,' he says. I nod and get two tickets. The train was to leave in five minutes so we make our way to the platform. We get on and choose a random seat. The train was almost vacant and the few there, both men and women, stare at Nicholas. I forgot I was travelling with a pureblood, now with the light of the train, he seems even more celestial. When we sit, my eyes start to close but I force them to stay open.

'Why don't you sleep?' Nicholas says to me, looking out the window, bored, 'I'll wake you up when we get there.'

I thank him and close my eyes. Almost instantly, I fall to blackness.

I get up minutes before we arrive. We get up and walk to the door as they open them. We make our way to the exit and get a taxi. The city seems rich and I see people wearing expensive looking outfits and driving expensive cars. We travel for a distance of 10 minutes when Nicholas tells the driver to stop in front of a huge Victorian mansion. He asks the taxi driver to wait. We get out and walk through the black gates. Nicholas walks towards the house and I follow behind him.

We walk through the long driveway, it takes 5 minutes to reach the entrance. He opens the door and walks inside. I dont see anything inside but will myself to follow him, I'm so close. I go inside and since he doesn't bother with the lights, I move my hands in front of me so I don't bump into anything. It doesn't work and I hiss as I hit a number of inanimate objects. I hear a sigh and I feel someone take my hand. Nicholas tells me there's stairs coming and I lift my feet, I trip twice but we keep walking. Finally I hear the sound of a door opening, moonlight floods through a window inside the room and I instantly feel calm. He lets go of my hand and walks to a dark corner in the room, I see him lean down and he disappears from my vision, I hear a click then shuffling, after a few minutes I hear the click again. I see him appear in my vision and he walk over to me. He takes my hand and places a small vial in my palm. It feels light and cold. I have Zeros salvation in my hand and I'm scared of what'll happen to it. I feel insecure and happy and frustrated and tired. I can save him. He puts his hand on my quivering shoulder, my body suddenly feel calm. I smile at him knowing he can see. I'm crying.

'Thank you so much,' I say, my voice cracking. I see him nod. I turn and walk out of the room. I go from where we came and each step I take is filled with caution. The small object feels heavy in my hand and my arms feel numb. I finally find my way out the house, thankful I had left the door from where we had entered open. I'm still crying. I run to the cab and jump in. He takes me back to the station and I pay him. I buy a one way ticket to Itachi. I get on the train and before it starts to move I fall asleep, the vial clutched in my hand.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**- The Return

I sleep the whole way and wake up to the sound of the whistle as the train reaches it's destination. I get a ticket for Obit and buy a sandwich and tea from a small shop. I get on the train and eat even though my nerves are shot and my stomach is in knots. I don't know what Zero or the others are going to do. What will they say? I don't really care but I couldn't wait to see Zero, I haven't seen him in what seemed like forever and my heart yearned for him. I want to give him the vial to help him return to being human and get him better. I smile at the thought and my heart hurts from thumping so hard.

I finally arrive to the station and walk out of the train. I control my urges to run because I know I don't have enough strength for that and walk out the building and keep walking until I get out of town. When I reach the edge of the forest, I start to run, slowly then faster and faster. I try not to trip and I find a path with no obstacles and follow it. I catch sight of the academy and I partially slow my steps, but as I reach the gate I start running again.

I run straight to the boys dorm. I don't care that I look like a mess, I have to see Zero. I bound up the stairs and open Zero's door without knocking.

'Zero,' I cry out, a smile plastered to my face. I don't hear anything I walk in and look around, 'Zero,' I call again, my smile fading.

I walk out the room when I'm sure he's not there. He's probably in class, I think to myself. I get out the room and head towards the chairman's office. My legs are like lead so I don't run and drag myself through the courtyard. I reach the building after a while and enter it, I walk through the lobby and down the hallway. I hear muffled yelling coming from his office I walk to the door and open it. The room looks like its gone through a tornado, chairs are upturned, papers are all over the floor, there are broken pieces of glasses and there's a crack in the window, looking like a spider web. Zero's back is to me and the chairman is talking-well screaming- into the phone.

What happned here?,' I whisper incredulously, forgeting the situation. Both their heads jerk my direction and before I can take a breath I feel Zero pull me into his arms. He hold me against him tightly and I feel the hammering of his heart. His breath seems as if he's just surfaced from water. I wrap my arms around him, my breathing coming out in small gasps and I feel my cheeks wet with my tears. I feel so relieved and tired and exhausted that I fall against him and let him support me. He keeps calling my name and smoothing my hair. I ignore the fact that I can't breath. I feel another set of hands on me and the chairman pulls us both apart. I instantly want Zero back in my arms. The chairman's eyes blaze at me.

'Where in the world have you been Yuki?' he asks in a hard voice.

I put my hands into my pocket and pull out the vial.

'I went to meet Nicholas Ferzhtyn,' I show them the tiny bottle. 'He said that it can help. It'll help turn Zero back to a human. He told me to give it to you. He knew you chairman and he knew Kaname too. He said something about a debt he had to repay,' I knew I was babbling, it's because I was giddy. After everything I went through Zero was right there in front of me, all these years of hating himself as a vampire. He just needed to drink it and it would all be over. The chairman looks at me.

'You met Nicholas?' he asks incredulous. His anger dissipating into shock. I nod at him. 'Wasn't he kidnapped?'

I swallow, 'Um, yeah he was. I went to Farquhason, because that's where he was and I helped him escape. He's back home now. He gave me the vial and told me it worked, he had even tried it on someone who was falling to Level E, they had recovered. I brought this for Zero.'

I look to Zero, his eyes are cold and hard. They blaze into mine and I cringe, I knew he was angry.

'I told you to not do anything reckless for me Yuki,' he tells me in a small and hard voice. I shiver, 'And look at you now, your hurt because of me.'

His brows furrow, scrutinizing the puncture wounds on my neck, not to mention the countless scratches over my body. I shake my head, 'No Zero, it was my decision. If there was a way to help you then I obviously would. I had no intention of doing anything reckless, I just did what I had to. And I did it for you.'

I look at him, my gaze hard and unwavering. He stares back and some of the hardness melts. I smile at him. Sighng, I take his hand and place the vial there, wrapping his fingers around it. The chairman sighs and crosses his arms over his chest.

'I know I should be angry with you, we thought you ran away,' the chairman tell me, smiling, 'But I'm just so happy to see you safe, now give me a big hug.'

Before I can escape, the chairman pulls me into a hug and squeezes me to him. I laugh and tell him I can't breath.

'Well how about you get yourself settled. I'll make dinner for you.'

I nod and he turns to look at the mess in his room as if for the first time, his mouth drops and he starts complaining. Zero has had his eyes on the vial for a while and now looks at me.

'Chairman,' Zero says turning to face him. The chairman does the same, giving him a serious look. 'What do you think?'

'I think you should do whatever you want to do,' the chairman tells him, a small smile adorning his features. Zero looks at me, and I smile at him.

He takes my hand and leads my out the room, I turn to the chairman and he smiles at me and gives me a wave.

'I'll see both of you at dinner.'

Zero leads me to the room I sleep in whenever I stay over with the chairman. There is nobody there to disturb us. Before I can even close the door behind me, Zeros lips come into contact with mine and he starts kissing me roughly. I can hardly breath, he pushes me against the door, closing it, and traps me there with his arms. He kisses me harder and pulls my lower lip softly, I open my mouth and he delves his tongue in and moves it in swift movements. I suddenly feel embarrassed and self-conscious. I push him away a little, he pulls away, breathing hard.

In between breaths, I tell him, 'Zero, I need a shower.'

His eyes glaze over again and he grabs my hand and pins it over my head. He kisses me again and my breath catches. I pull him to me but that nudge in the back of my mind keeps reminding me of my lack of hygiene. I push again.

'Zero, it'll only take a minute,' I say.

His breathing hasn't slowed and he swallows, his eyes retaining their normal hue. I walk past him into the bathroom and give him a smile before closing the door. I turn on the shower and get rid of my clothes. I'm glad I have extra pairs of pyjamas here. I take a shower as quick as possible and try to be as thorough in cleaning my body as possible.

I get out and see Zero sitting on the bed looking at the vial in his hands. I walk over and sit down beside him.

'What are you thinking?' I whisper to him.

'I didn't think there was any hope left,' he says after a while, 'I never tried to find a cure, I thought this is what I was fated to be, a beast in human form.'

I pause for a second then ask him the question that had been bugging me, 'Zero, why did you hesitate before?'

'I was wondering how I could protect you as a human. Vampires are more powerful and alot of my strength comes from me being a Level E vampire,' He pauses, 'But then I thought, I'm too selfish for that.'

He pauses and hold the vial to his face. He turns to me and smiles, it takes a second for me to breath. Though it was only two days I never imagined the heavy feeling of longing would be so eminent inside me, I felt like I could give my life for him a thousand times over.

'I'll take it tonight,' he says, 'I need you to be there though.'

I nod, a surge of protectiveness and pride rises in me, I knew he wouldn't ask anyone other then me for that. I move towards him and, stand on my knees, I take his face and pull in into an embrace, his head against my stomach and my chin rests on his head.

'You have to tell me what happened when you went,' he says against me. I raise my head and nod, then I notice he can't see me.

'Of course,' I say. I let him go and with my hands, raise his face up to me, I lean down and kiss his lips. I would do anything for you Zero, I think to myself, willing for him to hear through my lips. He moves his hand over the length of my body, following from the side of my leg to my thigh, my stomach and my breast, resting them on my neck. Over the puncture wounds. We pull away and Zero looks at my neck, his eyes getting hard. I smooth my hands over his cheek. He looks back at me and I rest my forehead against his, he closes his eyes.

'I was so scared,' he whispers. I hold his face between my hands, 'I started to think the worse. I went to Kaname and he told me he had told you about that pureblood Ferzhtyn. I was going to leave the academy with the chairman, going out to find you. The chairman was more calm then I was, he told me there was no point in acting irrationally. We called everybody we knew, inquiring about Ferzhtyn and his whereabouts.

We found out today that there was someone the chairman knew who was staying at an inn and he saw someone that matched your description being taken to the Farquhason manor with a bunch of other girls. We were going to leave today, the chairman already booked us tickets when I heard your voice,' he opens his eyes, they were glossy, 'I thought I was hallucinating, but when I touched you I knew you were there, flesh and bone,' he moved his hands up to cup my face, tears formed in my eyes and blurred my vision at the love held in his eyes. I could look at them forever. He pulled my face closer and kissed me, I kiss him back and we pull away.

'I'm so glad your back,' he says.

I let out a laugh, more of relief then humour, 'I told you I would never leave you Zero, I'm too selfish for that.'


	25. Chapter 25

**IMPORTANT AUTHORS NOTE: Okay so i've changed the ratings of this story from T to M. Cause there's gonna be some *lemony scenes* following the story now. I'll let you know when the scenes start so people can just skip it if they want.**

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**Chapter 25**- In the Shadow of the Night

I made my way to my dorm to meet Yori. She wasn't in our room, so I went to Mitsuki's room next door. Sure enough I found her, when I knocked on the door she was the one who opened it. She screamed and stared at me contemplating if I was a apparition or not.

'Good to see you too Yori,' I say, smiling and rolling my eyes at her.

She pulls me into a tight hug. Mitsuki comes over.

'Shit Yuki, you scared the hell out of us all, we thought you ran away.'

I shook my head, Yori still clinging to me, I hug her back, 'No, I, uh, I went to visit a friend of the chairman's.'

Yori pulls away, 'What friend?' she asks, suspicion and tears clear in her eyes.

I shrug using my new found acting tactics, 'It's the first time I met him. He had something to give to the chairman but he was too busy. I vounteered to go for him. I didn't tell anyone about me going though, not even Zero,' I say.

Yori pouted her lips at me, her eyebrows pull together, 'That's not very responsible Yuki.'

I nod at her shamefully. 'Yeah I know. I'm sorry I worried you guys. I just didn't think it was a big deal at the time, it was only for the weekend.'

'Oh,' they both say in unison.

I nod at them and shrug, stretching my shoulders back, feeling my muscles tighten. 'So guys, I'm really tired. I got jetlag, Yori you can stay here if you want, I'll be sleeping at the chairman's tonight.'

She nods at me and hugs me again before I leave. I go to my room and get some clothes and head back to the chairman's. Dinner is set by the time I come to the dining room. They're both sitting there, the chairman gives me a smile and Zero just stares at me, his eyes light. I blush and smile at them both. Sitting in my usual spot, across from Zero, we all start eating.

'So Yuki,' the chairman starts, 'Tell us how you did it, start from the very beginning.'

I swallow and start the story, from when I left the academy to when I came back, it took stretched out more then I had expected and the chairman's questions became longer and longer as the tale progressed. Even though Zero didn't ask many questions, his eyes were on me and I knew he listened to everything I was saying intently. After I was finished my tale and dinner, I excused myself. I go to the bathroom and wash up, then make my way to the guest room and lie down on the bed.

After lying awake for a few hours, tired but not sleepy, I heard my door open. I turn to see Zero. He closes the door behind him and I sit up. He comes and sits opposite me.

'Where's the chairman?' I whisper while he takes out the vial from his pocket.

'He left for the night,' he says. I nod when he looks at me. He holds the vial in front of him. I don't rush him, it's his decision to take, it's his life.

He smiles at me sadly, 'Don't leave me,' he whispers.

I feel my heart break. I only whisper one word, a word I use with him a lot.

'Never.'

He stares at me, his features illuminated by moonlight. He looks down, opening the lid of the bottle and, with a deep breath, brings it to his mouth. In one swing he swallows the contents. I don't breath. He pulls it away and sits there looking at me, tears leak from my eyes but I don't avert my gaze from him, my insides rage in determination and anxiety. He lets out a breath and his body suddenly tenses and his face stiffens, his eyes widen. He grunts and his hands move to his stomach, he gasps with every breath he takes, his eyes close and he falls forward on the bed groaning.

'Zero,' I call to him, hoping he can hear, 'Zero, what is it? What's wrong?'

I start to panic, what if it didn't work, Seiren did say that he had gone a little crazy after that women turned to a level E. He twists and turns his body in agony, grunting and moaning. I have never seen Zero like this and it scares me. I didn't want to see him hurt. I take hold of Zero and place his head against my lap, soothing his hair. I lean forward, tears running down my eyes and landing on him. I wrap my arms around his face and cry into him, whispering his name over and over again, telling him I loved him, I feel him take hold of my hand and I lift my face to look at him, his face is scrunched in pain and I hear his form words between grunts of pain.

'Don't… leave… Yuki.'

He suddenly turns limp, I fear the worst when I see the rise and fall of his chest, I feel his rapid heart beat and I relax, but not completely. I lie down, his head rests on my stomach. I pull the covers over him and me. I lie down, smoothing his hair, I fall into a restless sleep with the sound of his breathing and the beating of his heart.

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**Oh my Lordy Lord, thank you soooo much guys for the reviews. I swear they make my day. This was really short but i swear i'll upload REAL quick. *pinky promise***

**LOVE YOU GUYYYSSSSSSS **


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**- Rhythm of a Heartbeat

I feel someone shaking me, I moan and open my eyes. I see amethyst orbs staring into my eyes. I blink a couple of times, confused. My eyes suddenly shoot open and I gasp sitting up, remembering the events of last night. I hear him let out a chuckle and turn around. It's dawn and the room is bathed in purple and blue and a hint of orange. I look towards the source of the laughter. Its Zero, but it's not him. He's smiling like I've never seen him before, like a child without a care in the world. He's sitting in front of me, I bring my hands to his face, moving them over his features. His face has turned a duller hue, it was almost pale before, but now I see a darker color. His eyes aren't sharp and intimidating, they're dancing and light, his hair has turned dull as well, they've turned somewhat darker and they're shorter, no longer covering his eyes. His lips are turned up in a smile and I notice a small mole just above his ear I never noticed before. He looks human. I didn't notice I was crying until Zero brings his face to mine and kisses them. I close my eyes and smile. He pulls away and looks at me, his smile soft now.

'Your beautiful,' I whisper.

His smile fades but his eyes remain gentle. He leans forward and kisses me gently. I wrap my arms around him and he pushes me back down to a lying position slowly. He hovers over me as his lips message mine. He pulls away, but I pull him back, my arms still around him. He stiffens for a second then kisses me back, a little roughly. (**LEMONY SCENES STARTING NOW**) I nip his bottom lip and he groans, opening his mouth, my tongue strays into his mouth, he tastes sweet and there's something else, like peppermint. His hands travel over my body, over my legs my stomach and lightly over my breasts. I shiver and feel a tingle from inside me, just below my stomach. I arch myself so I'm pressed to him and he groans. I feel a bulge in his jeans and blush. He breaks his kiss and starts to move away when I pull him to me. He shakes his head, his breath shaky.

'I'm going to do something to you Yuki, I don't have much self-control anymore,' he says, letting out a shaky laugh. I'm breathing hard. He stares at me. I get up in a sitting position and pull him to me, I kiss him and he stiffen, he pushes on my shoulder to make me stop but I push them away. I place my hand on his shoulder and push, laying him down, I put myself on top of him and hold his handS down, my small fingers around his wrists, imprisoning him. I bring my mouth to his ear.

'I don't mind,' I whisper.

He shivers under me and I kiss him. I let his hands go and move mine to the buttons on his shirt. I start opening them one by one, but it's hard because my hands are shaking too much. Zero pushes me, getting up into a sitting position again. I stare at him, confused. I had already told him I had wanted to do this. He's breathing as hard as I am. He kisses me, and I start unbuttoning his shirt again, he pushes my fingers away and reaches for my dress, he unbuttons the first three buttons. I shiver and moan as his fingers graze my bare skin. My heart is thumping in my ribs, I can hardly breath, but I can't stop. I dont want to stop. He reaches for the hem of my dress and pulls it up. I raise my hands and seperate from the kiss for a moment to get it off. He throws it on the floor beside the bed. He doesn't kiss me immediately after that, he sits there staring at me. I blush, my heat thumping more than it did when he had kissed me. I was nervous, I would be lying to say I wasn't, but I had never wanted anything so bad in my life. I wanted to be connected to him, as far as humans go anyway. He takes me in, his hands roaming my body. I move my hands to cover mysel as much a possible, blushing under his gaze, uncomfortable in only my bra and underwear. He takes my wrists and moves it away. I could have sworn they were shaking.

'Let me...' he says, his face is red. I move my hands away and he slowly comes forward and kisses my jaw, trailing down he kisses the hollow of my throat, just the top of my breasts, between them, my stomach, my legs. I'm panting hard and every inch he touchs with his lips burns my skin. I brings his face up and kiss his mouth, his opens my mouth with his tongue asking for entrance. I reach up for his shirt and he lets me unbutton three buttons before he rips it off of him. I hear his ripped buttons fly every which way. I smile through the kiss and he does the same. He reaches behind me and unclasps my bra, sliping it off, he doesn't break the kiss as his hands move to my front and he messages my breasts, running his thumbs over my nipples. My breathing comes out in gasps and I shamelessly arch my back into him. I felt a strange surge of pleasure flow through me as my naked chest touches his. He shivers against me. I roam my hands over his body, his muscles tense under my touch. I break the kiss and start kissing his jaw, trailing down to his neck. I start kissing and biting a sensitive spot and he lets out a shake breath.

'Yuki...' i trail my lips down furthur, kissing kiss body. He pushes me away and lays me on the bed. He brings him mouth to mine and kisses me urgently. His hands reach my legs and pulls my underwear down, and I kick it off. I twist and turn my lower body pulsing for more. His hands go between my legs and he messages me there. My legs close a fraction in reflex, I let out a gasp as pleasure shoots through my body. I gasp his name out, my nails digging into his back, my toes curling inwards. He suddenly pushes a finger inside me. I arch over, breaking the kiss, gasping and screaming his name. He kiss me down my body until he reaches my inner thigh and he starts to kiss me there, moving his tongue around. I moan and gasp. this was beyond anything I had ever experianced before. Suddenly, I reach my climax and scream his name as thousands of blinding lights come to my eyes. Time stops for a second and I lay back on the bed, breathing hard. Zero comes up to my periphal vison and kisses me. That was the first time I had ever had experianced that. His hands move over my body again, resting on my breasts and messaging them. He trails kisses down my neck, sucking and biting a sensitive area on my neck. I move move my hands to the elastic on his pants and pull them down. He kicks them off. My body tingles in anticipation and it can't hold on anymore. Zero moves his face away, staring into my eyes. We're both brathing hard.

'Yuki, do you want this? It's going to hurt at first, but i can always stop if you want me to.'

I could see him visibly trying to restrain himself. I shake my head. I wanted this more than anything and I told his so. He kisses me gently. I grind my lower body agaist him. He sighs into my mouth. And then he enters me. I let out a gasp.

'I'm sorry Yuki.'

I feel tears come to my eyes. He pulls back slowly and enters me again. He lets out a moan and I clench my fists. As he continues, the pain subsides and is replaced by pleasure. I begin to moan and call his name, my voice getting stronger and louder. I climax a second time and so does he. He pulls away and comes to lay beside me, pulling me to his chest. We're both sweating and breathing hard, letting the moment pass.(**LEMONY SCENES DONE**)

'I love you Yuki,' he whispers to me.

'I love you too Zero.'

Before I know it, I've fall asleep to the rhythm of the heartbeat of the boy I loved.

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The next day, Zero and I don't go to school. During breakfast, we are both silent, but there was an air of serenity and calm. I felt we could stay like this forever, quiet and silently happy. We didn't talk about what we had done because it wasn't something we could talk about so easily, it felt like a secret. A secret pleasure. I was relieved to know that the chairman still hadn't come home. I didn't know what kind of face I would make with him there. As we're eating, Zero asks me random questions, talking through the meal. I try to keep up and answer them. This was new to me, he was so much more open that it scared me.

'Do you want to go on a date?' he asks suddenly, with his face down on his plate, he looks at me through his eyes lashes.

I freeze. 'What?' I ask, incredulous. He shrugs.

'Well we haven't really gone out on a date, and since we're together I thought that it would be okay. I want to take you out.'

I stare at him open mouth my brows pulled together in confusion. Was this really Zero? He sighs and looks away.

'Or not,' he says.

I shake my head. 'No, no, its just that I'm surprised. I never would have thought I would go out with you.'

He looks back and smiles at me, 'So yes?'

I nod, blushing and smiling so hard my cheeks hurt. 'Definitely.'

He nods, his eyes gleaming, 'I'll come and pick you at 7.'

'Where are we going?' I ask, taking a sip of the orange juice.

'Dinner, I guess,' he says looking down, I see a blush form in his cheek. I smile to myself, he's definitely not used to this.

We finish eating and clean the dishes. Zero tells me to go back to my dorm and spend some time with Yori.

'She was almost as frantic as I was when you left.'

I nod and leave the chairman's residence. We both go opposite directions and I already miss his touch. Suddenly I feel someone come from behind me, I turn and Zero pulls me in for a kiss before smiling and letting me go.

'Sorry,' he says, blushing, 'It's harder to control myself now.'

His eyes dance mischievously before he turns and walks away, leaving me stunned.

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I meet Yori at the dorm and we hang out in Mitsuki's room. We talk about what happened through the time I had missed at school and anything and everything else. I feel a strange calmness inside me, as if tired and light. My mind stays on Zero through our talk, they have to pull me out of my reverie countless times and explain their question or story all over again. Later, we go for lunch in the cafeteria. We sit with some other girls from our class. The feeling stays inside me, I felt indifferent. I didn't feel connected to anyone, I mentally slap myself and try and pay attention to what the girls are talking about. We return to Mitsuki's room later and end up watching a movie. By that time it's almost 6 o'clock. My palms are sweaty and my stomach is in knots. Relax Yuki, I tell myself. Yori notices my discomfort and asks me what's wrong.

'Um, well…' I run a hand through my hair and start playing with a strand, 'I, uh, I have a date with Zero.'

I hear nothing for a second except for the movie playing. I look at them and both they're mouth are literally hanging open, for some reason I want to take a picture of this.

'WHAT?' they both yell in sync, after about 5 minutes.

They jump at me, and I get up, they corner me against the wall and they both glare at me. They both talk and scream at me at the same time, their expressions changing from surprise to sad to happy to surprise to excitement to anger. I enjoy their reactions and tell them so, but I had to go get ready. As I'm about to leave the room, Yori grabs my arm. Both girls stare at me with an intensity that makes me cringe.

'And what, may I ask, are you wearing my dear Yuki?' Mitsuki asks in a menacing voice.

I tell them the truth, a nice pair of shorts and a nice t-shirt. Mitsuki and Yori exchange looks and let out a fake laugh as if they want to think I'm joking. I raise my eyebrows at them.

'Yuki, honey, close the door and nobody gets hurt.'

I close the door and they lead me to the bathroom. Yori pushes me in.

'Take a shower in 15 minutes Yuki,' she demands.

I nod, not wanting to get on her bad side right now, 'What about my bra and underwear?'

Yori waves her hand at me, 'I'll get them for you.'

Mitsuki hands me a towel and winks at me before closing the door. I take off my clothes as well as the necklace Zero gave me and take a shower, and wrap a towel around me. Mitsuki hands me my underwear. They also hand me a bathrobe to wear. I do and get out. They lead me in front of the dressing table, it's 6:20 and my heart beat harder and harder. I start to perspire and Yori reprimands me for it. Then they turn to make-up, They use all these different powder and brushes and glosses I never even knew existed. They told me they were going with a sexy/natural look. I just hope I didn't look like a clown. When they're done they let me look and I almost gasp, I don't look like me but at the same time I do. My lips are fuller and my eyes are smaller and sharp, I look flirty and wild but at the same time mature and composed. They blow-dry my hair and then straighten it. They braid my bangs and pin it up on the side. They hand me something to wear without a word from me. I look at it, it's a pair of black leggings and a strap-less, light pink mini-dress. The fabric is folded over on itself in several places and its beautiful. I look up a them, raising an eye-brow.

'Just change,' Yori tells me, looking excited.

I go to the closet and take off the bathrobe, not really comfortable with people seeing me in my underwear. I pull on the leggings and slip the dress on, I feel it hug my body. I get out and I hear an audible gasp from both of them, they fuss over me and lead me to the mirror. I look at myself and almost laugh, I'm so appalled that my eyes stay wide open and so does my mouth. I turn to them and it looks like their my parents fussing over my first prom. I laugh at them, feeling giddy and light-headed. Its 6:55 and I head to my room after Mitsuki hands me stilettos, which are a dull shade of silver with pencil heels, and as a last touch, I put Zero's necklace on. They both hug me and tell me to give it all I've got. I have the best friends in the world. I go to my room and grab my black trench coat. It's getting cold and I didn't want to freeze in the dress. Right on queue Zero knocks on my door, I take one last look at myself in the mirror and take a deep breath before I open the door.

He's wearing a light blue dress shirt and black pants, he's also wearing a dress coat. He's pushed his hair back and I almost don't recognize him, he's never done that. I have a perfect view of his face, one I've never had before and I find myself staring. I blush and try focusing on him, but I find him doing the same thing to me, his eyes travel over my body until they rest on my eyes. I smile at him, blushing. He leans forward and kisses me gently, I kiss him back, holding the knob and the side of the door to support my weak knees. He pulls away and places the back of his fingers against my cheek and glides it over the length softly.

He brings his lips to my ear.

'You look beautiful,' he whispers, I giggle softly.

He pulls away and takes my hand, a smile lighting his face, 'Shall we go?'

I nod and close the door. I peer over at Mitsuki's door, there's an inch of it that's open and I see two pairs of eyes looking at me, giving me the thumbs-up, it takes everything I have not to laugh, instead I wink at them.

We don't walk through town like we usually do, instead Zero borrows the chairman's car. I sit in the front with him and we ride towards town in a comfortable silence. He asks me about my day and I tell him. He listens and I can't help but notice how different he seems and acts. I would never have thought that he had ever bitten me for my blood. We drive through town and it takes a while to arrive to the restaurant. Zero gets out and I'm about to get out when he comes over and opens the door for me, holding out his hand for me to take. I blush, thanking him and take his hand.

We walk to the restaurant. It seems high-class and fancy and I'm glad I let Yori and Mitsuki dress me. The interior is even more beautiful, with dim lighting and soft music and candles and flowers. Zero gives his name to the waiter, saying he has a seat reserved. The waiter nods and leads us to a seat near the window. The waiter pulls my chair back so I could sit. I start to unbutton my jacket when he asks me if he could take it. He takes it from behind me and pulls it off, I turn to smile at him and thank him. I thought I heard a sharp intake of breath from Zero, I turn to him to find him staring at me his fingers go to his mouth and they rest against his lips. I hear him exhale. The waiter pushes the chair so I sit down and he tucks it in. I thank him and he smiles and leaves.

I turn to Zero and he's glaring after him.

'What?' I ask.

'He was too friendly with you,' he says venom in his words, I can't help but laugh. He looks at me.

'Zero, its his job, he was being nice.'

He rolls his eyes and I look around the restaurant. It really is beautiful with painting adorning the beige walls and pillars constructed in the middle. I realize the music before was coming from a man playing a piano on a small stage.

'You shouldn't have worn that,' I hear him say, I turn to him surprised and a little hurt.

'Why not?' I ask.

'It's hard to control myself,' he says without looking at me, I see him blush and I do the same. Luckily the waiter came and hands us our menu and asks for our drinks, I noticed him look at me with a glint in his eyes and Zero almost screamed to get his attention. I looked away to hide my smile. He leaves, giving me another unnecessary glance.

Me and Zero talk about nothing and everything. He told me his parents used to bring him here sometimes and I listened intently to him talking about his life before everything that happened. Usually he didn't delve into it but now he showed no restraints. I wondered about that.

'Zero, do you feel different? After the transformation I mean.'

He puts his drink down and gives me a confused look, 'Not really, I feel the same except now I don't think about ripping your throat off for your blood.'

I flinch, 'Sorry,' he says, 'The thing is Yuki, your blood was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted and I became addicted. I've heard that a vampires thirst can only be sated with the blood of the one they love. That was the thing for me. I didn't want to take the tablets, I wanted _your _blood, but that was just the monster inside me talking. It was hard to not take more blood when I drank from you. I was good at restraining myself. Now, the worse that can happen is to restrain myself fom taking you right here.'

He says this with laughter in his eyes and a mischivouse grin. I blush at his bluntness and his smile widens.

'So what brought all this on?' I ask.

'Brought what on?' he asks, confused.

I look at him incredulous, as if he didn't notice, 'Your talking to me. You used to never talk, you would never listen, you were always bored and annoyed and now that you've changed. I'm suddenly afraid that… some other part of you will change as well… the part I fell in love with.'

I realize tears are coming to my eyes and I look down.

There is silence and I don't dare look up. I feel his hand come to rest on mine, making them tingle. I look up at him, there is a pained expression on his face.

'Yuki Cross, I have been in love with you since the first time I met you. I listen to everything you said, always, only you. I was never bored I was never annoyed as long as it was you. And this change isn't actually change, it's always been me trying to repress my emotions. I was like this before but I feel such an exhilaration now that I'm letting everything out. I don't give a damn about the consequences, if you're here I'll be okay. I'll be whatever you want me to be. Only you Yuki, its always been you.'

I try as hard as I can to keep my tears at bay. I shake my head.

'You don't have to be anyone else Zero. I want you to be you. I just thought that if you changed that… you wouldn't need me anymore.'

He squeezed my hand, 'I'll always need you Yuki,' he tells me looking into my eyes. I feel like I'm drowning and all I can do is nod. He pulls his hand away as the waiter comes with our order.

We enjoy the rest of the meal, I feel more comfortable and smile and laugh with him. I catch him staring at me at various moments of the meal, with a distant look in his eyes. I blush each time and smile, feeling my heart beat speed up.

After we're done eating, we leave the restaurant and return to the academy. Zero walks me to my dorm. Before I go in, Zero wraps his arms around me from behind. I lean against him.

'I don't want you to go,' he whispers in my ear, my heart hammers and I shiver.

He brings his hand up to my neck and moves my hair away, he leans towards me and I feel his hot breath on my neck, I'm glad he's holding me otherwise I would've fallen. He kisses my neck once and I sigh, shivering, and it didn't have anything to do with the cold. He kisses me again, he sucks and bites on a sensitive spot and I let out a moan. I feel his hands tighten on my shoulder. Then he let's me go. I put my hand where his lips had been. It burned-in a good way though.

'Goodnight Yuki,' he says, smiling and turns away, walking down the path.

'Night,' I whisper after him and enter the dorm. I go to my room. Yori's sleeping and I tip-toe to the bathroom. I take off the dress and something on my neck catches my eye, it's a duller shade from my skin and it almost looks like a mosquito bite. I gasp and cover my mouth so Yori doesn't hear me from the room. He had given me a hickey.

* * *

**(A/N) so this was a VERY long chapter. PHEW.**

**So that's the end of the first arc of the story (HORAAAAAAAA). Thank you everyone who supported me through this. you make my life. SERIOUSLY. i still have more chapters to go (a LOT more) so bear with me people. It'll get interesting. *pinky promise***


	27. Chapter 27

**Authors Note: I have put a close to this story and instead made a sequel. The last few chapters (proceeding chapter 27) are included in the sequel to the other story. **

**It's under the name 'A Broken Sigh'. Ill continue from there from now on.**

**Thank you all for supporting me in this story that was just sitting in my computer never to see the light of day. Thank you for your support and enthusiasm. Made my day. love you all. see you at the other end of the rainbow...*crickets chirping at the corny joke.**


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